bubba9497 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Cowboys' foes figured out blitz in a hurry Williams says Redskins had better do the same, or suffer consequences http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/cowboys/stories/121203dnspocowlede.92a3ae28.html By MATT MOSLEY / Dallas Web Staff IRVING – Surrounded by TV cameras the other day at Valley Ranch, Cowboys safety Roy Williams squirmed like a 3-year-old in church. But the following question appeared to rouse Williams from his media-induced stupor: "So why haven't you guys been blitzing?" A suddenly animated Williams warned the Redskins to protect against the blitz – or else. "If they don't," Williams said, "we're going to be in the backfield the whole game." That's a place the Cowboys haven't spent much time lately. In the first meeting between the two teams, Dallas used the blitz to sack quarterback Patrick Ramsey four times and hold the Redskins to 124 yards passing. But in two straight losses, the Cowboys have all but abandoned the blitz. Even though Bill Parcells has never been a strong believer in the blitz, he and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer used it liberally early in the season. But a loss at New England on Nov. 16 exposed the Cowboys' blitz for the first time. Rookie cornerback Terence Newman got turned around on a couple of jump balls from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady against the blitz. Now, opposing teams are finding several ways to beat the blitz. The Dolphins and Eagles kept Dallas out of blitzing situations because of their ability to get rid of the ball quickly to running backs in one-on-one matchups against linebackers. Cowboys linebacker Al Singleton said the defense wasn't able to blitz against the Eagles last Sunday because they were using quick passing routes across the middle in which receivers were picking for each other. In recent weeks, even coach Steve Spurrier's devil-may-care Redskins are using running backs and tight ends to protect quarterback Tim Hasselbeck, who has replaced an injured Ramsey as the starter. The Redskins, who were using seven-step drops with Ramsey, are now using shorter drops with Hasselbeck. "It was obvious the Cowboys did something to us that we weren't able to handle at that point," Hasselbeck said of the teams' first game. "We feel that we're better at picking up the blitz. We're better at getting the ball out of our hands." Parcells didn't use the blitz very often when he was coaching the Giants because he didn't have to. New York could line up in its base defense and overpower teams. The Cowboys can't generate a constant pass rush with its defensive line like the Giants could, and that's why Parcells used the blitz early in the season. Solid play by cornerbacks Terence Newman and Mario Edwards gave the Cowboys enough flexibility to blitz linebackers and safeties. But after Miami and the Eagles successfully took shots downfield against Edwards, the Cowboys had to back away from the blitz. "You can't just indiscriminately blitz all the time," Parcells said. "It will kill you. We have taken a lot of chances to try to create, and it has helped us. But you know, you got to be careful, because they scout you pretty well on that stuff now. You wind up gambling at the wrong time." The lack of a consistent blitz has also seemed to lessen the impact that the hard-hitting Williams has on games. Forced to stay back in coverage, the 235-pound Williams has looked slow against receivers such as Miami's Chris Chambers. In the first game against Washington, Williams lined up near the line of scrimmage and battered Ramsey. Now, he's hoping to give Hasselbeck the same treatment. The Cowboys have certainly reaped the rewards of the blitz this season. But recently, they've only seen the downside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Om Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 This game will be an interesting barometer of just how big a factor Ramsey's propensity to hold the ball too long was in the woes our offense had in blitz-pickup earlier in the year. The idea of slowing the blitz by burning it with quick stuff underneath and the occasional ball over the top to a single-covered WR's is nothing new. The reason teams kept blitzing us is because we were simply unable to do so. My guess is Parcells will try us early .... and it'll be up to SS and Hasselbeck to make them pay enough to force them to back off and play us honest, as the Phins, Saints and Giants all had to do once Patrick went down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitnskins Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Man, I hope we take it to those Cowgirls this Sunday! I'd also love to see somebody get one of those nice, clean, and honest blind side shots on Roy Williams during a reverse or even on a block downfield........i'd like to see that fool get a taste of his own medicine, and lay his azz straight out!!!!!!!!!! Hey Roy......can you smell what I'm cooking:moon: :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonnyJ Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Williams is 235? That is just too big for a safety. He may be able to run like the wind (though this article indicates otherwise), but guys that big can't change direction quickly enough. Safeties need to be able to do that. He either needs to lose weight or just become a LB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted December 12, 2003 Author Share Posted December 12, 2003 I hope Coles has a day like Chambers did Thanksgiving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief skin Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 They blitzed the hell out of us the first time, you better believe that is their game plan this week. Lets hope the ol ball coach realizes this obvious fact and has a solution to this other then the usual fun and gun go long play Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDawg Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 I hate the Cowboys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OURYEAR#56 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 As long as the refs don't call the bullsh*t, then we should be fine againsts the calfboys. I'm not scared of their blitz, because in recent weeks we've held up against some good defenses. We should be able to run, and throw against these flukes. What a f*cked up season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross3909 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 I dont even want to think about how great this one victory would be. It would go a long way to making this a bearable season. I dare say if we beat Dallas and Eagles, I will still finish this season with a smile on my face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Om, I think you're right. Another indicator will be that of SS's coaching ability. If and when Parcells decides to blitz, will we be able to make them pay. You're absolutely right about PR's penchant for holding on too long but the coach is gotta be the guy to fix that. A slow Roy Williams in coverage huh? Looks like a great match-up for D-Mac a long as Hasselback can get the ball out in a timely manner. Lets go SS. Tight ends and RBs in to protect and Gardner, Coles and D-Masc running wild in the secondary with Hasselback getting the ball out QUICKLY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riggins44 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 From that article I get the impression that there is a case of nerves in Dallas. With this game the pressure is all on them. The old saying is live by the blitz and die by the blitz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowghost Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 I hope we can beat the blitz. Also since this is such a must win game for them I hope Q-card just flat out chokes:) :dallasuck :dallasuck :dallasuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 This is to be somewhat expected. No one really knew how to prepare for Dallas early because of the staff changes. It took a few weeks but teams finally got a feel for the Dallas offense and started to stop it. Same thing for that defense which is ranked far higher than the talent level because they came out so strong and stuffed so many teams early. But that's starting to turn on them too. I'd love to see us punish them for blitzing as we have the capability of doing. Let's just hope we actually DO have it figured out now. We haven't seen a ton of blitzes against us in recent weeks. That may be because we're picking up those there are better and teams are afraid to try it further. I just haven't seen a team commit to that sort of pressure to see how it works against us. I hope we have that cleared up by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsNumberOne Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Originally posted by Art This is to be somewhat expected. No one really knew how to prepare for Dallas early because of the staff changes. It took a few weeks but teams finally got a feel for the Dallas offense and started to stop it. Same thing for that defense which is ranked far higher than the talent level because they came out so strong and stuffed so many teams early. But that's starting to turn on them too. I'd love to see us punish them for blitzing as we have the capability of doing. Let's just hope we actually DO have it figured out now. We haven't seen a ton of blitzes against us in recent weeks. That may be because we're picking up those there are better and teams are afraid to try it further. I just haven't seen a team commit to that sort of pressure to see how it works against us. I hope we have that cleared up by now. If Dallas doesn't test us - and even if we beat them, Philly certainly will. Unfortunately, their DBs are also better than Dallas (their CBs are clearly better, and I would take Brian Dawkins - he is healthy now, I think - over just about anyone in the league). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamebreaker Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 I see the article pointed out how Spurrier is calling plays now where Hasselbeck is taking shorter drops than Ramsey was. Some posters, for some reason, were seeing differently. As long as SS and Hasselbeck continue to use the hot read on all-out blitzes and keep a quick hit option, we should be fine aganist the blitz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Number One, I'm not sure Philly will. Remember last year. We prepared for the heavy blitz in the first game and we got tricked up as Philly went to heavy coverages and we weren't ready for it. In the second game Philly blitzed some early, but afterward spoke of not getting the pressure they needed to on Ramsey and pulling back some. In the first game this year I think they got most of their pressure in a short burst when Dockery lost control of Walker there, but otherwise they didn't rip through us a tremendous amount. In fact, they seemed to double us on the edges taking that away from us and didn't do a whole lot up front. Philly is a team that has done the best job of keeping Spurrier guessing with regard to what they are doing. They go against tendency well against us. I would expect them to blitz, like you, but, they just haven't done that against us like you'd expect under Spurrier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsNumberOne Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Originally posted by Art Number One, I'm not sure Philly will. Remember last year. We prepared for the heavy blitz in the first game and we got tricked up as Philly went to heavy coverages and we weren't ready for it. In the second game Philly blitzed some early, but afterward spoke of not getting the pressure they needed to on Ramsey and pulling back some. In the first game this year I think they got most of their pressure in a short burst when Dockery lost control of Walker there, but otherwise they didn't rip through us a tremendous amount. In fact, they seemed to double us on the edges taking that away from us and didn't do a whole lot up front. Philly is a team that has done the best job of keeping Spurrier guessing with regard to what they are doing. They go against tendency well against us. I would expect them to blitz, like you, but, they just haven't done that against us like you'd expect under Spurrier. I think you're right, but since their CBs are healthy again, they might be more willing to blitz a bit more. In the game earlier, their secondary was pretty beaten up. As you say, though, they seem to be the team that has really consistently given us a hard time for the past few years. If they have something to play for when they play us (i.e. home field or the division, since they might ALSO lose this week...), that will be a really telling game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoCalMike Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 The first meeting had nothing to do with Ramsey holding on to the ball too long.....unless you wanted him to throw the ball away on every single play. It has to do with the plays being called and the QB trying to get the ball to an open reciever. Also, "too long" against Dallas that day would be about 2 seconds, and the QB should have an automatic 4 seconds with an adequate line blocking for him. Our offensive line has definately picked it up lately, plus we are running the ball more, and the passes being called the past few weeks are much shorter passes that leave the burden on our recievers/RBs/TEs to make the BIGGER CHUNK of the play. When Ramsey was in there, Spurrier wanted to use Ramsey's arm on every single pass play. So you can't blame Ramsey for trying to make the play that the coach called. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius J. Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Gamebreaker, While it is true that we are seeing MORE five step drops from hasselbeck, it would be foolish to believe that ramsey's weakness was something other than getting rid of the ball too slowly. In fact, an argument could be made that fewer five step drops were called for ramsey because of his tendancy to hold the ball too long. On at least one occasion in the first dalls game, spurrier called a three step drop ramsey took three steps and then pumped..... YOU CANNOT PUMP ON A THREE STEP DROP! he was sacked. hasselbeck hasn't had that particular problem. -DB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoCalMike Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Originally posted by DrunkenBoxer Gamebreaker, While it is true that we are seeing MORE five step drops from hasselbeck, it would be foolish to believe that ramsey's weakness was something other than getting rid of the ball too slowly. In fact, an argument could be made that fewer five step drops were called for ramsey because of his tendancy to hold the ball too long. On at least one occasion in the first dalls game, spurrier called a three step drop ramsey took three steps and then pumped..... YOU CANNOT PUMP ON A THREE STEP DROP! he was sacked. hasselbeck hasn't had that particular problem. -DB I also don't recall Tim facing a constant ALL-OUT blitz on every single play of the game, yet. On Sunday, if we run, run and run some more, and mix in passing when NEEDED, we win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Could'a, Would'a, Should'a Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 i remember after the boys beat the bills i stated the boys defense used one on one coverage with their corners too often and it would hurt them. i got shouted down by a couple of boys fans, looks like i was right as usual Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsNumberOne Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Originally posted by Richard Nixon i remember after the boys beat the bills i stated the boys defense used one on one coverage with their corners too often and it would hurt them. i got shouted down by a couple of boys fans, looks like i was right as usual Yeah, I hadn't really understood some of what appeared to be guys fearing the Cowboys corners. I mean, their safeties are top notch, but their cornerbacks... Newman will get better over time, but I don't think he and Edwards are the equal of the Eagles corners. Personally I'd rank the starting corners in the NFC East like this (right now): Dallas - Giants - Eagles - Redskins Remember, that would change I think if you factored in safeties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riggins44 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 The weather might affect the game plans for both teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inmate running the asylum Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 Originally posted by bubba9497 Cowboys' foes figured out blitz in a hurry Now, opposing teams are finding several ways to beat the blitz. The Dolphins and Eagles kept Dallas out of blitzing situations because of their ability to get rid of the ball quickly to running backs in one-on-one matchups against linebackers. Cowboys linebacker Al Singleton said the defense wasn't able to blitz against the Eagles last Sunday because they were using quick passing routes across the middle in which receivers were picking for each other. This is what I believe they call good coaching. So why wasn't Spurrier able to make these adjustments at least at halftime during games, instead of in the 11th game of the season and after we have been eliminated from the playoffs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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