Versatility, flexibility give Cowboys edge over Pats on offense
The Patriots clearly are the league's best team, and they did win the head-to-head battle in Big D. That said, the Cowboys have the NFL's toughest offense to defend.
The Cowboys' quarterback is agile, athletic and quick with his decisions. The team has two every-down runners, both worthy of being a feature back. It has one of the league's best tight ends. It has a physically dominant wide receiver and a fine, young complementary receiver (and a former Pro Bowl receiver on the mend and due back soon). Oh, and one of the league's best lines.
Tony Romo is becoming one of the league's best quarterbacks. With only 23 career starts, Romo already is one of the top four or five quarterbacks -- but the toughest to scheme against.
Opponents facing Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Brett Favre can bring pressure up the middle to try to flush them out of the pocket or at least make for a cloudy window to throw through. You can't do that against Romo. Blitz Romo up the middle, and he will put you on SportsCenter, escaping to the perimeter and creating a big play.
Then again, defensive coordinators don't have much success bringing outside pressure like they would against other athletic passers. Romo is too quick and instinctive with his decisions. He finds the void your blitzers leave behind.
And defenses can't sit back in simple coverage because Romo and his multitude of weapons will pick them apart.
New England's wide receiver trio of Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte' Stallworth has received a ton of attention (with good reason), but the Cowboys' corps of wide receivers Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton and tight end Jason Witten is just as lethal.
Opponents can't come up and play a strictly physical game with guys as strong as Owens and Witten. Green Bay tried that. Let's just say it didn't work. At the same time, opponents can't sit back and let the Dallas receivers and tight end run free through the secondary. Owens, Crayton and Witten are just too swift and too disciplined in their route-running.
Conventional logic says coordinators should double-team the best one (Owens) and take their chances with the other two (Crayton and Witten). Teams have tried that. And how many times have we seen Crayton slip behind a safety cheating over to Owens' side? Witten is the same way. He is the rare combo tight end, equally adept at blocking and receiving. And he is dangerous, short and long. Just last week, he tied an NFL single-game record for catches by a tight end (15).
And Terry Glenn is set to practice Wednesday for the first time this season. Glenn won't play Sunday against Philadelphia, but Cowboys' opponents soon will have another deep threat to worry about.
And if you worry too much about the passing game, Dallas, unlike New England, will gash you with the run.
Marion Barber and Julius Jones have become one of the most dangerous backfield tandems in the game. While maybe not quite as explosive as the Vikings' Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson or the Jaguars' Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, Barber and Jones complement each other enough that Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett can do anything he wants in the running game.
Defenses can't load the outside because Barber and Jones are both good enough runners between the tackles. Defenses won't load the inside because both have the quickness to reach the corner and turn downfield.
Want to run outside and shift the point of attack? Jones is your man. He is effective because he is exceptionally quick and runs low, which makes him tough to locate.
Need to pound the ball to run out the clock or get a key first down in a short-yardage situation? Barber can take care of that. And he can do the other stuff, too, if Jones needs a breather.
And (gasp!) both are good blockers and receivers, enhancing the already lethal passing game.
The real key? It's the fabulous five of Flozell Adams, Kyle Kosier, Andre' Gurode, Leonard Davis and Marc Colombo.
The linemen are exceptional in the running game because of their girth and surprising quickness, and they give Romo plenty of time to throw downfield. Davis was a huge free-agent pickup (pun intended) last offseason. His ability to open holes when pulling has forced opponents to take fewer chances with run blitzes.
Some opponents have used base personnel to stop the run, only to be lit up by Romo. Some opponents have played with an extra defensive back (or two) and minimize the damage done by Owens & Co. only to be shredded by Barber and Jones behind their personal convoy of blockers. What's a defensive coordinator to do?
This story was in the Sporting News by Michael Parker.For more of his work, check out the SportingNews.com
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