Caught in a Trap: Eagles 34, Cowboys 7

Martellus Bennett flashes his Roy
Williams ''who me?" grin

The Philadelphia Eagles pole-axed the Cowboys last night, decking them with several early big plays that pushed Philly ahead 21-0 less than 20 minutes into the contest.

On the offensive side, the Eagles top-ranked rushing attack gashed the Dallas front with a pet play they used to torture Paul Pasqualoni's D last winter, a bend trap that attacks the weakside end, usually Demarcus Ware.  Dallas could not stop it in Cowboys Stadium and last night, Rob Ryan's over-zealous calls made it very easy for the Eagles to spring it on their first two series.  The first time it was called, LeSean McCoy ripped it for 28 yards.  The next time, it broke for 36.

The ease with which it worked suggest that the Eagles Andy Reid and Marty Morhinweg saw a clear tendency in Rob Ryan's methods, because his defense ran itself out of both plays more than the Eagles blocked them out.

Play 1.  First series.  The Eagles have completed a slant to Jeremy Maclin to get near mid-field.  The Eagles set up in a one-back set, with three receivers and a tight end flanked on the right:

At the snap, the Eagles block right and McCoy starts in that direction, suggesting the sprint draw, a stock edge run.  The entire line will block that way, with the exception of TE Clay Harbour (82) who is pulling across the formation.  His task it to trap block Demarcus Ware.  The Eagles hope he'll rush upfield and that Harbour can but him off.  If LT Jason Peters seals the DE in front of him, McCoy will have a cut-back lane when he runs bend action right to left to the lane between Peters and Harbour.

Note, however, how easy the Cowboys make it for them.  Their front slants yard to the apparent strong side. All the linemen cut across the face of their linemen.  Look at Jay Ratliff.  He's on the right hash mark.  Also look at RE Kenyon Coleman.  He starts the play between the hash marks.  Where are both of them when McCoy gets the handoff:

Ratliff is upfield and a good 7-8 feet wide of the hash mark.  Coleman is also wide of the right hash.  Peters and C Jason Kelce didn't have to muscle them there; they simply had to help the Cowboys go where they already started.  Harbour doesn't even have to touch Ware.  The Cowboys have sold out to their left, and the Eagles have run a perfect play away from them.  Look at the space McCoy has when he clears the line:

Drive two.  Similar situation.  The Eagles are in 1st and 10 at the Dallas 38.  Ryan wants to take pressure at Michael Vick, and brings the house.  His slot corner Orlando Scandrick, ILB Sean Lee and FS Abe Elam all join the front five:

The Eagles are in the same formation and run the same play.  The max blitz gives McCoy even more room;  Elam is rushing outside of Ware, and when the OLB is trapped play-side, Elam is even wider of McCoy's running lane.  Lee has run into the scrum in the middle of the field and Scandrick is behind the play the instant he crosses the line of scrimmage:

Again, the line has slanted to the strong side of the formation, making the blocking easy for the Eagles line.  When McCoy clears the line this time, there are only three Cowboys defenders with a shot at him and every one of them is engaged by a receiver:

No need to overpower the Cowboy in front of you.  Just let him do what he wants to and get out of McCoy's way.  We talk about matchups, but on these two plays the matchups were won on the play-sheets.  Reid called a basic run that was the perfect antidote to Ryan's pressure.

From there, the game plan was inside running and attacking the still soft-underbelly of the Cowboys pass defense, the inside linebackers and SS Gerald Sensabaugh.  Dallas could make a play or two and get the Eagles in a 3rd down, but they could not get off the field because Michael Vick could find a receiver or a tight end winning his matchup against Keith Brooking and Sensabaugh.  Lee was having a tough time as well, but the matter got out of control when he left the game with a wrist injury a couple of plays into the 2nd quarter.  Bradie James was badly overmatched, so the Eagles didn't have to challenge the Cowboys corners deep.  Then ran crosses and TE seams and scooped up bushels of yards.

Brooking and James have long careers on their resumes, but both linebackers legs are shot.  Hope that Lee's MRI turns out negative.  Bruce Carter isn't far away, but he's not ready to start.  If Lee is lost for any significant amount of time, it will be the grey-beards getting most of the reps in the middle of the D.  The season could slip away in the next couple of games.

The Turning Point

The game snowballed early, on Dallas second offensive series.  With the Eagles offense leaving Ryan's nose bloodied, the offense had to answer.  It had gone three-and-out on its first series, but now the score was 14-0 and Garrett's guys needed to answer, to get points and to give the defense time to re-group and re-think their strategy.

They made one big play, springing DeMarco Murray for 29 yards on a pitch from an overloaded 22 set, with Tyron Smith and Tony Fiammetta making superb blocks on the edge.  On 2nd-and-8, Dallas went to the 12 set,with Martellus Bennett left and Jason Witten right:

The call was a play fake for Murray, with Miles Austin and Bennett running a scissor-like combo on the left side.  Austin cut inside and Bennett wheeled behind him:

Bennett got behind LB Moise Fokou up the left sideline and Tony Romo dropped a perfect pass into Bennett's hands:

The pass went through Bennett's hands and off his shoulder pad.  He flailed at the ball, only to bat it into Nnamdi Asomugha's reach:

Dallas had another promising drive go three and out and the Eagles were set up for their third drive.

Sometimes, the key play needs to be made in the first quarter, instead of the fourth.  Bennett showed, as Tashard Choice did the last two games, that he's a player who can't be trusted.  He came up waving a hand across his face, to suggest that Fokou has facemasked him, and broken his concentration, but that was an exercise in butt-covering.  Fokou never saw the ball and never raised his arms.  Bennett simply bungled a perfectly thrown pass.

Bennett made much of his superpowers on his Cowboys debut, referring to himself as Aquaman.  Martellus again showed that he's a cartoonish player, though he's really a Telly Tubby (I'll say Dipsy) instead of a superhero.   The rolling hills and the rabbits of Telly Tubby land seem a better place for him than an NFL field.

Perhaps he and Tashard can build a windmill there.

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Cowboys @ Eagles Open Thread

Joy.  My project finished just in time for kickoff.

Let's watch some football.

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Cowboys Choose to Cut Choice, Carter Activated

The Tashard Choice era has come to an end, with the team waiving the 4th year running back to create space for ILB Bruce Carter, who will see his first action this weekend.

The move brings a difficult year for Choice to an end.  The back missed most of the preseason with an injury.  Rookies Phillip Tanner and DeMarco Murray stepped forward.  Choice remained second on the running back depth chart, but his continued mental mistakes tried the staff's patience.  His fumbles in consecutive games, while Murray was turning in team-leading performances, pushed Choice down the depth chart.

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College Saturday: Walk the Mock 1.0

TE Coby Fleener

Pardon my scarcity in these parts.  I have a major commercial project with a rapidly approaching deadline.  Here's the promised first stab at a mock.  In the short week, I'm going four rounds deep with this one.  I'll flesh them out as the fall progresses.

Round 1:  David DeCastro, G, Stanford  -- Here are my conditions.  Before the season, I predicted 10-6 for Dallas and a playoff miss.  Until the Cowboys get off the win-loss roller coaster, I'm sticking with this general prediction .  Going 10-6 and missing would likely put Dallas in the 20 slot.  Going 9-7 could move them up into the 16-17 range.  I'm going to split the difference and park them in the 18th slot for now.

DeCastro could be long gone by pick 18, so glowing are his profiles.  However, this is also shaping up to be a strong quarterback and left tackle draft, with quality pass rushers, cornerbacks, receivers and Trent Richardson also in the top 12-15 mix.  QBs, LTs and DEs/OLBs with top rush skills rise.  Ace WRs like Justin Blackmon go high.  Richardson will go high, given good health.  All these risers could conspire to drop DeCastro a bit.

There are plenty of other prospects who could help Dallas.  Courtney Upshaw would make the Cowboys think twice about keeping Anthony Spencer.  An Alfonzo Dennard would certainly help the secondary.  However, no player could make a bigger instant impact, in my opinion, than a blue-chip guard.  The Cowboys were very interested in Mike Iupati in '10, so DeCastro almost certainly makes their short list this year.

Round 2:  Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford -- Dallas will be in the market for a tight end next spring, with Martellus Bennett almost certainly signing his next contract with another team.  Dallas needs tight ends and fullbacks to make its offense hum.  Fleener is the best all-around senior prospect and looks like a guy who can play the pass-catching TE role very early in his career.  In this week's chat, Wes Bunting quoted an un-named NFL scout who told him Fleener's blocking has improved greatly this season, which checks a big box on Dallas' TE list.

Round 3 -- T.Y. Hilton, WR/KR, Florida International -- Dallas needs depth at the receiver position and to find a quality kick returner.  Dallas has three big targets in Austin, Bryant and Laurent Robinson.  In this spot, I'm taking one from a group of talented 5'10'' wideouts with plus speed and shake that includes Arkansas' Jarius Wright and Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles.  Hilton has the quickness and acceleration the Dwayne Harris and Manny Johnsons have lacked, which could make him deadly in the slot, and could finally give the Cowboys that exemplary returner they've sought since Deion Sanders left town over a decade ago.

Round 4 -- Leonard Johnson, CB, Iowa State -- Shorter, stocky corner who is rising slowly as the season progresses.  Gets good marks in zone and in press, and had a good game against Texas A&M's top WR prospect Jeff Fuller recently.

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Bunting Part II: Hilton Too Slippery for Secondaries

T.Y. Hilton

Part two of this week's chat with the National Football Post's Wes Bunting considers the deep crop of slot receivers.

Cowboys Nation:  You were tweeting yesterday about T.Y. Hilton from Florida International.

Wes Bunting:  I was watching tape of him last night.

CN:  You've mentioned there's a lot of depth in this year's receivers class.  And there's a group of guys just behind the big seniors, who are all about 5'10'', who can all run well.  There's Kendall Wright from Baylor, Jarius Wright from Arkansas, Ryan Broyles from Oklahoma, Marquis Maze from Alabama and Hilton.  We've talked about the two Wrights and a little about Broyles.

All of these guys look like they'll start their pro careers as slot receivers.  The big school guys are on TV every week, but Hilton is a fresh name.  Tell us about him.

WB:  Hilton is a guy who I described last night as ''slippery.'' He doesn't have the physical presence of a Randall Cobb or a Jerrell Jurnigan.  They were undersized guys who went high last year, but they were bulked up.

Hilton has a slighter build, but he's got great short-area quickness.  He accelerates well.  When you watch tape, he's really hard to check off the line of scrimmage, and he's really hard to bump down as a route runner or when he's got the ball in his hands.  He's got top end speed.  I've seen corners try to jam him and Hilton just slips them cleanly.

This is a guy who I think can run the entire route tree.  He's got the straight line speed, so he can get vertical,  if you want him to get deep, I think he can run those deep routes or those diagonals that the Eagles use with DeSean Jackson and the Bears with Devin Hester, where they just run away from their corners.  And another plus is the return game.  He gives you real nice pick up in the return game.

CN:  You anticipated my next question.  Duane Harris was just cut this past week, and he's the player the Cowboys plucked from this last draft hoping he would be their return guy.  It's strange that the last really good returner this team had was Patrick Crayton, who wasn't a speed guy, but he was tough and he ran north-south, so he never lost yards trying to dance his way around coverage guys.

I know anybody they look at has to be a plus in the return game and this is another name to add to the list.

WB:  I liked Duane Harris coming out off of tape, and when I watched him live, he was a pretty blah athlete. He had some short-area quickness but there was no above-average acceleration to his game, and if you want a dynamic guy in the return game, you need a dynamic athlete.   T.Y. can be that.

CN:  Where does T.Y. Hilton rate right now?  What's his ceiling, in your opinion?

WB:  I would say, there's a nice group of slot guys.   Randall Cobb went as the last pick of the 2nd round last year.  Jurnigan went in the 3rd.  I would say he's in the 3rd.  I'd say 3rd or 4th round, but if Hilton goes to the combine and runs in the 4.3s?  He'll go higher.

CN:  I'll give you the glut of names as you have them rated and you tell me where the figure right now.  Let's star with Kendall Wright.  Does he sneak into the 1st round?

WB:  No.  He's a 2nd rounder.  High 2nd rounder.

CN:  Jarrius Wright?

WB:  I would say he's a 2nd-3rd rounder.   I'd say Ryan Broyles is a 2nd-3rd rounder.  I'd say Marquis Maze is 4th-5th rounder and T.Y. Hilton is 3rd-4th.

CN:  Let's go back to DeCastro.  How high could he go?

WB:   His ceiling?  Late top 10.

CN:  Do you think he goes that high?

WB:  Probably not.  If a team is desperate and needs a guard and wants to play it safe, I could see 8th, 9th, 10th pick.  More likely 12 to 17, somewhere in there.

CN:  And that the range where Mike Pouncey went last year (15th) and Iupati (17th) and Maurkice Pouncey (18th) went the year before.

WB:  And that's the range were the top interior linemen often goes.

CN:  I can't see a team like the Cowboys justifying a trade up for an interior lineman, but if they lose to the Eagles and are say, 4-4 at the halfway point, they're looking at landing in that 15-20 range.  He could fit.  He would make a lot of sense.

WB:  Yeah.  Plus you play him next to Tryon Smith!  That could be a pretty dominant left side of an offensive line.  He plays right guard for Stanford, but he could play either guard spot.

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Bunting: DeCastro a Plus Guard Prospect

In part one of this week's chat with the National Football Post's scouting director Wes Bunting, he profiles a redshirt junior guard prospect who could be the perfect cure for the Cowboys interior offensive line woes.

Cowboys Nation:  Last week you told us that this is a very deep class for guards, and that had me thinking the middle rounds could be a place for Dallas to look at one, since they are having trouble at guard.  Later that week, you posted your first mock draft and had Stanford guard David DeCastro going 16th to Tennessee.  Over the weekend, your buddy Chad Reuter from CBS Sportsline was tweeting while watching the Stanford game and he could not stop gushing about DeCastro.

Today I noticed you listed him as one of your five top juniors, regardless of position.  How good is this guy?

Wes Bunting:  He's just a really coordinated, athletic kid.  I'm sure Chad was talking about his ability to get out of his stance and to the second level, which he can do really well.  He's a plus athlete.  He has excellent body control and the ability to break down and hit a moving target at the same time.  Plus he's very coordinated in pass protection, he's a technically sound kid.

If you're a power team and you're looking for a guy who can drive you off the football, you probably won't have him rated as a top-15 pick, but if you're a zone team or a team like the Cowboys who seem to be looking more for athletic linemen.  If you want to run power-O or power-bob where you pull the backside guard and lead with him and the fullback, this is the guy you get to pull and kick out people.

He can hold his own in pass blocking, be a plus space blocker.  Are their guys with more upside at sexier positions?  Yeah, but here's a guy you can plug in from day one.  I took some bunk a couple of years ago for having Maurkice Pouncey as the 3rd overall prospect and now it doesn't look so bad.  Some people have stigmas about rating certain positions high.  I think DeCastro can be the same type of player as Pouncey.

CN:  Let me give you a reference then.  The Cowboys were really interested two years ago in Idaho guard Mike Iupati.  He was one of three players they prioritized on day one, the other two being Earl Thomas and Dez Bryant.  After they failed to move up for Thomas, they hoped Iupati might fall, and there was a lot of disappointment among the fan base when the 49ers took him at 17.   How do these two guys compare grade wise?  I know they're not the same style wise; Iupati is more of a road grader, but where do they fit on your board?

WB:  Grade wise, I'd put DeCastro ahead of Iupati.  On my scale I think the highest grade I have in the senior class and DeCastro might get an 8.5.  That's what I gave Pouncey and that's what I gave Suh.

CN:  Let me ask you one more question.  The Cowboys are a zone team and have been since the '90s.  What set them apart is that they were able to run zone blocking with big guys, where people immediately think of the Shanahan Broncos as the prototype, with smaller, faster linemen.  I think the Cowboys started looking for smaller guys because they are prioritizing quickness over bulk, but they would love to get guys around 315 pounds who can move laterally and up the field.  How would DeCastro (6'5'', 312) work in a zone system?

WB:  Ah, he would be phenomenal.  You're talking about the big plays and [Matt] Bowen would attest to this, you can run power-o or power-bob with him.  You can run lead open.  You can run lead strong with this guy because he can get out in space and seal a guy off and let the running back create.  You can run counter off tackle where you pull the backside guard again.  He can stick through contact on a lead play or he can be that backside guy you can consistently pull.

You can run to his side, but you want to play to his strengths, and in the one system where he can get out and steer.  He gets out on linebackers about as well as any guard prospect I've seen.

CN:  If he rates higher than Iupati where does he rate among guards you've graded, since you've been doing this?

WB:  Since I've been doing it overall, he's right up there.  One of, maybe the highest guard grade I've ever given.  Pouncey was an 8.5 and he was a center-guard.  This guy is going to come in and play.  Look at Stefan Wisniewski, who's having a nice year for Oakland, or Mike Pouncey, who is not as good as his brother but who is starting for Miami.  I gave those guys 7.0s.  I think this guy can come in early and be a difference maker, just like Maurkice Pouncey.

Tomorrow:  Speedy slot receivers with shake.  
Friday:  My first stab at a mock draft. 

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Another Look at the Tape: A Little Power and a Lot of Finesse

This morning we looked at a foiled attempt at running power, one of Dallas' base runs.  Now, we're going to look at an effective power wrinkle Jason Garrett installed for DeMarco Murray on Sunday:

Second play of the 2nd half.  Dallas is in 2nd-and-4 on its own 26.  It has run a successful toss right on first down.  Now, the Cowboys stay in the heavy 22 set and put both tight ends on the right side.  They're in jack right, with Tony Fiammetta also offset to the right.  The formation offers maximum power to the right.  (Keep in mind that this is the formation that Tashard Choice gets on the next play, and that call was actually power to that strong side.)

Before the snap, H-back Jason Witten motions to the left side.  This gives the formation more balance, but it's still a heavy power set to the right.

 Here's the look just after the snap.  Dallas is selling power right.  Martellus is blocking down on the right end.  Tyron Smith and Kyle Kosier are double teamming the right-side DT.  Phil Costa is blocking down on the other DT, to let LG Montrae Holland pull.

Tony Fiammetta is running to the right edge to join Holland at the apparent point of attack.  And Tony Romo is executing a great fake.  He's making the reverse pivot, suggesting he's going to lead Murray to the right edge.  Murray has thrown his shoulders open to his right, and pointed his left knee there.  This looks like a power counter, and all three linebackers are buying the fake:

They've all committed themselves to their left.  But Murray has pushed off to his left, away from them.  The strong side and middle linebacker have run themselves out of the play and Doug Free has a clean angle to seal off the weak side 'backer (57).

 Murray gets effective blocks from Jason Witten and Miles Austin and it's clear sailing until he reaches the free safety.  It's a big play that builds off of running a base play.  It caught the Rams completely off guard, and will work against linebacker corps which overpursue -- assuming the Cowboys can run the base power play effectively to make them chase that play hard.

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Powering Your Way Out of the Lineup

Yesterday, I started a series on the Cowboys running plays with a demonstration of an outside zone run.  The Cowboys have several zone runs, the press strong-side outside zone, the slant, a weak-side outside zone, the belly inside zone, toss plays and the bend plays, which are mis-direction plays with zone blocking.

I'll get through the rest of the zone plays later this week, but I wanted to jump to the counter series of plays, to show a broken play that looks even worse on review.

The counter plays are mis-direction plays with man blocking.  They hint at a run in one direction, but send the action the other way.  As their name states, the plays runs counter to the initial feint, which is intended to lure the linebackers into false steps and give the blockers better angles on them.

Dallas runs a variety of counters, but the best known is simply called power.  It's a strong-side counter, where Dallas lines up in either a straight I or in a jack formation, with the fullback offset on the tight end's side.  The back takes a jab step away from the call, then runs behind the fullback and the pulling weak-side guard.  This is the play the Cowboys ran over and over again for Emmitt Smith on their decisive touchdown drive in the 3rd quarter of Super Bowl 28.

It's another bread-and-butter Cowboys run, and on Sunday, Tashard Choice bungled it so badly he never re-entered the game.

The situation:  1st-and-10 near mid-field.  DeMarco Murray has just ripped off a long run to give the Cowboys momentum on their initial 2nd half drive.  Dallas has called two effective runs and wants to build rhythm.  On the next play Jason Garrett puts his heavy 22 set on the field, with Tony Fiammetta the fullback, Choice the halfback and Jason Witten and Martellus Bennett the tight ends.

The formation is very strong left, with both TEs flanking LT Doug Free and the backs in a straight I:

The call is power left.  The tight ends block down on the Rams right end and outside linebacker, Fiammetta angles left and right guard Kyle Kosier pulls left.  He and Fiammetta are going to lead Tashard Choice around the left end, if Witten, Bennett and Free can seal the perimeter:

Somebody forgot to give Tashard Choice the memo.  Or perhaps he didn't read it;  on power left, the back is supposed to take an initial step right and then follow the guard and fullback.  As you can see in the second still, he's made a feint to the left instead.

Tony Romo manages to execute a smooth handoff to his confused running back, who takes one step and then tries to correct his path:

Choice's mis-steps have put him on the wrong side of the play, and he's too far behind his interference to break the play outside for positive yardage.  He's instead run down from the back side by Rams safety Quintin Mikell.  What's worse, Choice fumbled the ball away, giving the Rams a chance to climb back into a 17-7 game.

Fumbling is a cardinal sin for a running back.  Fumbling on a play where you ran the wrong way?  That's a recipe for benching, and Choice did not return to the game after this play.

Coaches preach the need to know what they have, to know that the players they put on the field will carry out their assignments correctly.  When a fourth year veteran is this far adrift on a play that was probably installed on the very first day of his very first mini-camp, what can you say?  Can Jason Garrett and Skip Peete count on him?  Should they?

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What They (Try to) Do: The Cowboys Running Game, Part One

The giddiness over Demarco Murray's record setting rushing day has yet to crest.  While I chart how the Cowboys ran so effectively yesterday, the contest offers a good opportunity to discuss how the Cowboys try to run.

The Cowboys, like most NFL teams are a zone blocking team.  They did not get the attention for their attack that say, Mike Shanahan's Broncos and his current Redskins teams do, perhaps because they don't run as much bootleg passes to counter the zone runs, but the Cowboys run the same inside and outside zones that teams like Washington do.

In the old Turner/Zampese system, and I imagine in the Jason Garrett system, which runs so many of the same plays, running plays are named.  For instance, the wide, strong-side zone stretch that the Redskins call 18/19 HO is, in the Cowboys lexicon, press left and press right.

Let's begin by discussing the outside zone runs.  The play is called by name and then to a side.  There are two ways to run an outside zone, to the strong side, or to the weak side.  The strong-side zone, run behind the tight end and a fullback, or two tight ends on the same side, is called press left, or press right.

A weakside zone, run behind the F-back, but away from the tight end, is called slant left or slant right.

Here's an example of the latter, from the Patriots game:

Dallas is going to run queen right, slant left.  Queen is an off-set I with the fullback, or F-back offset opposite the tight end.  (Jack is the formation with the FB offset to the strong side.)  Right is the strong side, where TE Jason Witten is lined up.   The Patriots have overshifted their linebackers to that strong side, with SOLB Rob Ninkovich over Witten.

Against this front, the center and left guard double team the DT to the call side, to get a push inside.  LT Doug Free is to ride the DE, and Andre Carter does him a favor by cutting inside, away from the run, so Free only has to seal him where's Carter has run.  This opens up the perimeter.  On the other side, the RG and RT are also double teamming the DT on their side.   F-back John Phillips' job is to attack the weakside LB.

The back is supposed to read the block of his F-back.   If the OLB crashes wide, he's supposed to cut inside, into the lane between the LT and the F-back.  If the F-back gets a seal the runner, DeMarco Murray  in this case, guns it for the sideline.  That's what happens on this play. Note the scrape blocks inside.  C Phil Costa has come off his double team block to engage MLB Brandon Spikes and LG Kosier has moved off his double team to seal off Ninkovich.

A text book execution of a play that was Dallas' bread and butter in the '90s.  This weakside outside zone run, as much as the lead draw, was a pet play in the Turner/Zampese years.  With speedsters like Felix Jones and Murray, it's one the Cowboys would like to run frequently again.   If fullback Tony Fiammetta and F-back Phillips can work it consistently, you'll see it a lot more in the coming weeks.

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Chicken Soup for the Cowboys Soul: Cowboys 34, Rams 7

The Rams looked like a tonic for a Cowboys squad which had not celebrated a win in a month.  They soothed the hurt from New England and offered a booster shot of confidence to a running attack which had averaged less than 90 yards rushing per game through five contests.

Dallas sprinted to an early 14-0 lead, mainly on the legs of rookie DeMarco Murray, who ran the stock lead draw 91 yards for a touchdown on Dallas' first series of the game.  Murray struggled the rest of the first half, but when the defense kept the anemic Rams attack under control, Jason Garrett had the opportunity to find the Murray template.  Garrett learned that Murray worked best on the perimeter, off tosses and outside zones, though he also showed the muscle and drive to make the lead draw an effective tool.

The Rams are the NFL's worst rushing defense, so it's likely premature to over-react to the team's 294 yards rushing today.  Murray's skills are obvious however, and the St. Louis contest gave the offensive line ample reps (34) to build some cohesion and continuity.  With a key division game upcoming, against an Eagles team that has also had trouble stopping the run, the timing could not be better.

As is the way with the 2011, the spike in rushing performance was offset somewhat by the most uneven passing game performance of the season.  The timing was off for much of the game.  Open receivers were missed and passes were dropped.  Dez Bryant dropped a certain touchdown off a slant just before the half.

Bryant shook off the mistake and had a four-quarter game.  The last of his five catches was a 20 yard touchdown fade up the right sideline.

On defense, Rob Ryan's guys had a one bullet-point game plan:  stop Stephen Jackson.  Jackson beat then for two consecutive big plays on the Rams lone scoring drive, running a trap-draw for 40 yards, then running a counter to the right for a score one play later.  The Cowboys re-grouped, allowing Jackson less than 30 yards the remainder of the game.  The defense stopped Jackson on 4th and goal from the one in the last minute, stopping St. Louis on downs after 1st and goal from the two, showing the energy they displayed last week carried over.

Notes:  This was a big day for the rookie runners.  Murray shattered Emmitt Smith's team single-game rushing record of 237.  He was joined in the big-smile department by Phillip Tanner, who got several fourth quarter runs and notched his first career touchdown.

-- On the downside, Murray's and Tanner's rise may mark Tashard Choice's demise.  The 4th year veteran fumbled the ball away on Dallas' first 3rd quarter series and did not play again.  This was Choice's second lost fumble in the last two games.

-- A solid start for prodigal guard Montrae Holland, who showed no conditioning issues, while making some big blocks.

--  The challenge for Eagles week is getting both phases of the offense in sync.  The passing game has carried the offense, but tonight it sputtered, while the running game finally got out of the garage.

Play of the Game

1st-and-19.  One play after a Tony Fiammetta holding penalty wiped out a long Murray edge run, the Cowboys lined up in a base 21 set, with Jason Witten flexed right.  The extra space pulled an outside linebacker into space, putting six defenders inside the Rams box against the six Cowboys blockers.  The Rams put both safeties deep, expecting the Cowboys to pass to get back much of the needed 19 yards.

The Rams are playing pass.  Their LE, RE and LDT charge upfield.  Kyle Kosier lets his man rush upfield and seals him outside.  Both Doug Free and Tyron Smith do the same with their men.  LG Montrae Holland the C Phil Costa double team the tackle lined up over Costa:

 Tony Romo's play pass action has the middle linebacker and the weakside linebacker dropping and dithering.  They're not sure if the play is a pass or a run.  That hesitancy gives fullback Tony Fiammetta time to get upfield and block the middle linebacker.  Jason Witten does the same on his linebacker.  Holland comes of his double team block and seals the third linebacker.  Dallas had the desired "hat-on-a-hat" situation on every one of the seven Rams defenders:

Murray cuts left and has only FS Quintin Mikell to beat.  A sharp cut to the left sideline spins Mikell around and turns Murray loose to the left sideline.  He has too much speed and finishes the play.

Everything is better -- and easier -- when your offense can run the ball.  Here's to more of the same.   Long report tomorrow.

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Snap Analysis -- Halftime: Dallas 17, St. Louis 7

DeMarco scored on a 91 yard
1st quarter draw play.

A better Cowboys performace, with some lingering rough edges.

Dallas stopped Stephen Jackson on all series, but one.  On that one, Jackson was King Kong, ripping off a long run on a trap draw and scoring on the following play on an edge run at Anthony Spencer, who looped wide and gave Jackson a nice lane.

Otherwise, the Rams offense has been as before.  They get a couple of first downs.  They complete a bootleg.  They complete a draw.  Then something goes wrong.  They're also probably a bit numb after watching RT Jason Smith carted off with a neck injury.

On offense, it has been hit or miss.  The running game goes in spurts.  DeMarco Murray's 91 yard draw has been offset by a lot of short runs.  Dallas really hasn't found a running rhythem, but they can throw just about any time they want.

The lead would be bigger but for the enigma of Dez Bryant.  He made an impressive catch and run early on, but got jammed twice on end zone fades and dropped a sure TD on a slant from the 10 yard line.  Not surprisingly, he didn't throw a tantrum on the sideline.  When there's no one else to yell at but yourself, things get quieter.

Let's see how he performs in the 2nd half.

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Cowboys vs. Rams Open Thread

4:05 -- Three passes over the middle rip up the Rams D.  A deep in to Dez Bryant converts a 2nd and 21.  A shallow cross to Laurent Robinson moves the Cowboys inside, and a play action fake to Demarco Murray on 3rd and goal from the 1 pops Jason Witten wide open in the back of the end zone.  14-0 Cowboys.

1st QTR over:  Cowboys 7, Rams 0.

3:55 -- Smith is conscious and appeared to be talking as he was loaded onto a cart.

3:51 -- RT Jason Smith is being placed on a body board.  Smith dove at Elam's legs head first and twisted his neck delivering the blow.  Smith's helmet has been removed and he's being immobilized.

3:47 -- Abe Elam blows up an effective screen, knocking the ball from Cadillac Williams' hands on the near sideline.  The balls stays just inbounds and Elam recovers the ball.

3:26 -- Dallas runs a superb lead draw.  Jason Witten and Tony Fiammetta give great seal blocks and Demarco Murray makes a nasty mid-field cut on Quintin Mikel before blowing away from him for a 91 yard TD.  7-0 Cowboys.

I SURVIVED!

Got the Browns-Seahawks as my early game.  (shudder)  I'll never get those three hours back.  Did catch up on sleep.  Okay, Rams!!!!

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Rams Cheat Sheet

The Cowboys try to get back on pace against the 0-5 Rams in the late Sunday afternoon matchup.  Here's a cheat sheet for the contest:

vs. the Rams offense

1.  Contain Stephen Jackson.  He's their offense right now.  He has been every second he's been healthy.  He'll make yards on some plays, but he cannot get into a run, where he is gaining 5-6-7 yards an attempt.
1a.  Defend the Rams left.  This is their power side, behind LT Roger Saffold.  Most of Jackson's yards come on runs this way.
2.  Attack the Rams right.  RT Jason Smith has been in and out of the starting lineup this year.  He has trouble with power.  Whether Demarcus Ware plays or not, look for Rob Ryan to bring pressure and games off the right edge.  Teams have smacked the Rams QBs around (21 sacks) and most of them came off the right.
3.  Tackle -- This seems obvious, but sound tackling makes a bigger difference against a Rams team that can't finish drives.  They're scoring an abysmal 9.8 points per game, a shocking total for an NFL team.

Yet, they move the football.  Josh McDaniels is their OC and his calls create first downs.  They run boots to TE Lance Kendricks.  They can throw over the top on occasion to WR Danario Alexander, a beanpole who beat the Giants Aaron Ross on several go routes up the left sideline.  They'll get two or three first downs, but eventually, if you don't blow a tackle and give them a cheap TD, something will break down.  A lineman will get beaten for a sack.  Someone will drop a pass.  A 3rd down run will get stuffed.

vs. the Rams defense

1.  Stop the middle rush.  Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo learned his defensive chops as the late Eagles DC Jim Johnson's linebackers coach, and he's run the same wide-9 4-3 with the Giants and the Rams.  It's a pressure scheme with the ends at the 9-techniques and the linebackers stacked inside.  This is very similar to the defense Dallas faced against Detroit.  The signature blitz from Johnson's scheme is the double A-gap blitz, with two linebackers lining up to either side of the center, with both rushing.  The center is responsible for one and a back for the other.

The Patriots ran variants of this last week and disrupted Dallas' offense.  Tony Romo's pick came in the face of double A-gap pressure from Brandon Spikes.  After Phil Costa's lost Sunday in Foxboro, expect the Rams to test the Cowboys interior line immediately.

2. Spread them out -- One way teams cut down on Rams pressure is to use spread sets on early downs.  When the Rams are in base, they'll flex a linebacker over the slot receiver, leaving six men in the box.  This could limit St. Louis' rush options and give Tony Romo more time to throw.
3.  Run against the six-man fronts.  St. Louis defense ranks last in rush defense, and it has not much mattered where teams run.  The Packers had success attacking the edges.  Other have run inside.
4.  Work the middle of the field.  The Rams had a rising young pass defense last year, but free agency and injuries have wiped this unit out.  FS O.J. Atogwe left for Washington.  Injuries have put the Rams starting corners Ronald Bartell and Bradley Fletcher on the injured list.

St. Louis has some experience on the edges, in Justin King and former Packer and Saint Al Harris.  Their safeties have been overmatched.  Harris has had trouble in recent weeks. Teams have had a lot of success running receives over the middle on deep ins and posts, away from the corners.

Matchup to Watch -- RT Tyron Smith vs. LE Chris Long.   Long is the Rams pass rush.  They have only 9.0 this year and Long has three of them.  He's the only Ram with more than one.  If Smith can hold his edge, the offense has a better chance to get off to a fast start.

The Skinny --  Spagnuolo and McDaniels still have the Rams playing hard, but they have too many holes to hold up.  Their top output has been 16 points.  If the Cowboys carry over the intensity they showed against the Patriots, I have a hard time seeing the Rams scoring lots of points on their own.

Dallas would have to help them, with broken coverages, sloppy tackling, or lots of turnovers by the offense.  They're a team that can hang around, and don't be surprised if they make things sticky for the Dallas offense for a half.  If the Cowboys protect the football, they'll pull away, as all the Rams other opponents have.

Cowboys 28, Rams 13

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6-Up, 6-Down: Lots of Prospects in the Cowboys Sights

Dennard is Dallas' pick in Wes
Bunting's 1st mock.

Being late October, any draft lists have all the solidity of jello freshly poured into the mold.  It's still steaming.  Somehow, and sometime next year, it will congeal.

That's no reason to avoid looking over the lists.  Especially when Wes Bunting has provided a mock draft that includes juniors many expect to declare early.  With that, I'm going to play a game I called 6-up, 6-down.  Back in the early 90s, when I first started buying draft books, I would look at Joel Buchsbaum's mocks, look at Dallas position and see which names were available six picks ahead of that spot and which were six down.  I was looking for a target list that was realistic;  there are the players who might fall into the team's slot, or for whom a trade-up would not cost a fortune.

In this case, I want to start with the team's position.  Bunting has the Cowboys in the 21st slot, assuming they will get a wild card playoff spot.  I'm not as bullish.  I predicted before the season that this team would finish 10-6 or so and miss the post season.  That would put Dallas in the 18-20 range, were that to happen.  So for this exercise I'm putting them in the 18 slot.   Who is in the 12-24 range that could fill a need?

I see a lot of secondary help.  Dre Kirkpatrick, Alfonzo Dennard, and Janoris Jenkins all fall in that range, thought Jenkins off-field problems would require some attention.

Dallas might get a chance at Alabama OLB Courtney Upshaw, whose game reads a lot like Lamar Woodley's.  If you're looking for that splash pick Bunting has Baylor QB Robert Griffin III in the 17th slot.  That seems a bit low, but with three QBs in this mock's top-5, who knows?

Other notes:

-- When Dallas was considering Tyron Smith last year, a lot of critics wondered why Dallas would value a guy who couldn't play LT on his college team.  I was told by Wes that USC had Matt Kalil ready to play LT and that with Smith already at RT, the Trojans new staff felt they could get off to a faster start leaving both OT prospects where they were.

Kalil, the brother of Panthers C Ryan Kalil, shows another reason why Smith stayed on the right side, when many felt he could have played left.  Kalil is the 3rd player off the board.

-- Want a shot at Trent Richardson?  Hope that he, like so many other running backs in recent years, drops a bit down the board.

Which prospects in the 6-up game appeal to you?

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Are They Just Young, or Incapable?

Here's part of the job description for center from Dallas' scouting directive:

-- He's responsible for pocket depth.
-- He must get movement in the running game.
-- He must be athletic enough to block after snapping the ball.  He must have quickness and balance and strength.

Many of these same qualities apply to guard.  The interior three linemen set pocket depth.  They need to anchor against power rushers and give their quarterback room to slide or step up away from edge pressure.  We've seen inconsistent play from the rookies this year.  Left guard Bill Nagy has been up and down.  Rookie right tackle Tyron Smith has had his share of bad plays.  Mixed with the bad plays, however are good ones.  Two plays before Smith gave up a sack to Andre Carter, he put Gerard Warren on his back on a short-down running play.

The rookies show athleticism and hint that more repetitions and more strength could raise their games.  The question is much larger at center, where Phil Costa plays in his second season.  He's been through an NFL offseason, unlike Nagy and Smith.  He's familiar with the system.  He should not be overpowered consistently.  On Sunday, he was, and the type of player overwhelming Costa raises doubts in my mind about his long-term prospects in the pivot.

Here are several plays from the game.  Costa simply could not anchor:

This is from Dallas' touchdown drive in the 2nd quarter.  Tony Romo gets the pass away, but notice how a Patriots tackle has walked Costa six yards back into Romo's throwing lane.  What's more, this type of quick interior pressure kills the downfield passing game.  Romo is rushing to complete a four-yard hook to his tight end.  At the top of the frame, Miles Austin is running a six-yard slant.

Romo lacks the time to throw any route in his tree deeper much deeper than this.  Interior pressure slices the passing play sheet considerably.

To be fair, this is Albert Haynesworth, who can embarrass lots of good interior linemen, even on a bad knee. But look at how the interior pocket collapsed when New England rushed an inside linebacker:

This is Dallas initial drive of the 4th quarter.  They've tied the game and have a little rhythm.  They're near mid-field and call a quick pass to Miles Austin to convert a 2nd-and-2.  Follow Brandon Spikes (55).  He's starting a charge right at Costa:

Romo gets the ball off quickly and completes the pass, but what if Jason Garrett had called for a deep route? What if he wanted Austin to get upfield on a longer-developing move.  Would Romo have had the time to stand and deliver?

Two plays later, the Patriots ran the same blitz at Costa:

Spikes barrels past Costa and this time he disrputs the throw.  The call is a comeback for Dez Bryant at 12 yards and Bryant is open, but Spikes hits Romo's arm on the follow through, forcing an incompletion.

Here's another killer Spikes-Costa duel.  This is from the infamous final series.  Here's 1st and 10, with just over three and a half minutes left.  The call is a run to the right edge.  Jason Witten started wide and has motioned down into the right slot.  John Phillips and DeMarco Murray start left, but are bending right.  This is the play that worked so well against the Redskins.  Vince Wilfork is being double-teamed. There's good blocking on the right edge.  It has a real chance to gain yardage if the rest of the line can get a stalemate.

Again, Spikes has taken a pre-snap run at Costa and overpowers him.  Murray gets the handoff, takes one step forward and finds a linebacker in his lap:

This is the situation Dallas wants.  A chance to wind down on a 4th quarter lead pounding the football.  Yet, they barely get a successful hand-off completed.  Brandon Spikes weighs 250 lbs.  Phil Costa lists at 314.  No linebacker, no matter how good he is, should work over a center with a 65 pound advantage in the way a boxer uses a heavy bag.

When he took over the Cowboys in '03, Bill Parcells justified his selection of Al Johnson by saying that a bad center can hold an offense hostage.  I have to wonder if Dallas is facing another such situation?  They took a big risk at free safety last year with Alan Ball and paid a price.  This year, they pushed Costa over Andre Gurode, and are not getting quality results.

Is the problem youth, or is Costa in over his head?

Back to you, Coach Houck.

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