Robert Griffin and his Redskins used the Cowboys as Thanksgiving stuffing Thursday afternoon, and may have left Dallas' season cooked.
The defense, which has carried the team for most of the year, lost more vertebrae. Inside linebacker Bruce Carter injured a shoulder after landing strangely and looks set for season-ending surgery. If so, he'll join fellow ILB starter Sean Lee and safety Barry Church on injured reserve. Add that starting nose tackle Jay Ratliff didn't dress after losing his race to rehab his recurring ankle sprain, and that safety Gerald Sensabaugh was taking a concussion test during the 4th quarter, and you see a Cowboys defense that no longer has a spine. All five interior positions in the base 3-4 were occupied by backups and street free agents at the final gun.
The Redskins knew it too. Their three biggest plays of the game targeted three of the part-timers.
Play one: The defense had stuffed the Redskins wide rushing attack on two first half series, but was caught looking for small ball. Washington snuck speedster Aldrick Robinson on the field and had him run a post pattern off the right flank. Brandon Carr turned Robinson over to safety Barry McCray, who sat on Griffin's play action fake. McCray's hesitation let Robinson race past him, and the Redskins rookie was yards behind the secondary when he caught the Redskins first score.
Think back to training camp, when fans pondered whether Barry Church could handle deep centerfield duties. The biggest fear expressed was whether teams would get receivers past him, as they had to Keith Davis, Pat Watkins and Alan Ball. Church and Sensabaugh were playing well in deep patrol, until Church tore an Achilles tendon.
McCray has had to fill the role and had been respectable for a few weeks. The ease with which Washington picked on him gives pause, with the Saints and Steelers speedy wideouts still on the schedule, not to mention Cincinnati's A.J. Green. McCray has a role he does play very well; when everybody is healthy, he's the nickel linebacker in Rob Ryan's 4-2. On this play, McCray looked like a linebacker; Robinson was simply too fast for him.
With Church and rookie Matt Johnson on I.R., he's all the Cowboys have at the moment. And if Sensabaugh can't overcome his dings, McCray and Eric Frampton will have to make do.
Play two: Another play that attacked the deep middle. Here, Washington ran Pierre Garcon on a deep crosser and benefitted from some good fortune,and a great catch. On this play, Ryan had moved Brandon Carr into the slot, and rotated him into free safety coverage. Carr broke on Griffin's pass, which was well behind Garcon. Carr's angle took him straight to the football, but left him in a poor position to make a tackle. Carr probably believed for a moment that he had an interception, before Garcon reached back and snagged the ball from danger. At that instant, Carr was beaten and nobody was in shape to make a tackle.
Carr and Mike Jenkins have had to moonlight inside, and while they may seem like obvious replacements, they are not,. National Football Post analyst Matt Bowen, a former NFL safety, has argued for years that corner and safety are not interchangeable. They have different reads, different angles to the ball and different techniques. He says that corners he played with always though safety was easy, until they tried the position. The corners who did make the moves inside, guys like Ronnie Lott and Charles Woodson, devoted entire off-seasons to learning safety. The Cowboys corners have had days, and it shows.
Play three: The Cowboys have rallied to within 28-13 after an 85 yard Dez Bryant catch and run. Washington has replied with some first downs and faces a 3rd and one at the Dallas 29. Washington packs the field with a jumbo package and slips tight end Niles Paul, a converted wide receiver up the right seam. Inside linebacker Ernie Sims turns Paul free and jumps on a receiver's in-breaking route. The problem is that Dallas' corner on that side also have coverage on the receiver. There's no Cowboys defender within ten yards of Paul when he catches Griffin's fourth touchdown pass of the game.
It's easy to pile on Sims but he's merely a symptom of Dallas' spinal collapse. Sims was a top-ten draft pick by the Lions a few years ago. Sims played weakside outside linebacker in Florida State's 4-3 and was expected to fill that role in Detroit. He disappointed there and was traded to the Eagles last year, where he again failed as a 4-3 WOLB. A few weeks ago, I asked
Blogging the BEast's Jim Kempski for a snap scouting report and was told Sims has all the athleticism you could want, but lacked the instincts to be an effective starter. In other words, the more you have to rely on him, the bigger your team's risk.
Dallas signed Sims off the street after Sean Lee went on injured reserve and Sims became a starter when Dan Connor was banged up. He's never played inside linebacker in a 3-4 before and has had to learn on the job. With Carter out, Sims is assured a starting spot the rest of the way, unless he also goes down with a hurt.
The Cowboys have played on the faith that the defense could hold things together until the injured impact offensive players, DeMarco Murray and Tyron Smith, could return and give the offense some balance. They had played on faith that their return, and better play by the receiving corps could spark a December playoff push.
Murray and Smith may return soon, and may raise the offense, but the defense now looks tattered and beyond repair. The Cowboys keep losing defensive starters (check Jason Hatcher's status as well) and may not have enough able bodies to contain passing attacks.
The Cowboys have continued to fight and that sets them apart from squads like the Eagles, who no longer appear to believe. That fight now looks like the main attraction to this squad. Camp Hamstring, which started in Oxnard, has never lifted, and the biggest Cowboys question may now be how many more playing and coaching careers are damaged before it's over?
