Cowboys plan? Run like clockwork - Page 3

C-Mac · 12-08-2005, 09:47 PM

http://www.covers.com/articles/artic...761&tid=27&t=1
Cowboys plan? Run like clockwork
By Andrew Folkes
Thu, Dec 8, 2005

Coach Bill Parcells knows that even under ideal circumstances his Dallas Cowboys would have a tough time keeping the Kansas City Chiefs off the scoreboard as 3-point favorites Sunday.

Unfortunately, these are not ideal circumstances, in particularly those surrounding the secondary. Starting cornerback Aaron Glenn missed Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury while position mate Anthony Henry was held out of Dallas’ last four contests with a groin strain. Both are listed as questionable.

“I think our defense will be challenged this week to a greater degree than it has all season,” he told the San Antonio Express News. “They have a pretty good array of talent to deal with, so we just have to be at our best.”

A wounded secondary doesn’t bode well against K.C.’s ninth-ranked air attack. But because the Chiefs have a rush-based offense, oddsmakers weren’t overly concerned with the Cowboys` cornerback situation when they set Sunday’s line.

“[A secondary’s effect on the pointspread] depends on if they are playing a run or pass oriented team,” explains betWWTS.com linesman Michael Pierce. “K.C. loves to run the ball, plus the secondary is one of Dallas’ strengths, so the effects are minimal.”

The Chiefs’ love of the ground game is perhaps even more troubling for Dallas backers considering how susceptible their team has become to the run lately. Although ranked No. 10 in rushing defense, the Cowboys have given up nearly 110 yards to opposing ball carriers through their past three games. They now have to deal with Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, who’s averaged 156.6 yards and scored five majors in his last three outings.

“[That] is becoming an ugly trend the past couple of weeks," defensive end Chris Canty said. "We don`t like to do that.”

The Cowboys believe their best defense is a solid rush offense of their own. Parcells had his offensive backs, receivers and linemen focused primarily on their blocking in the midweek practice. Parcells hopes Dallas can rag the clock enough to keep Johnson off the field for any length of time.

“Today we had an excellent practice,” right guard Marco Rivera told reporters Wednesday. “Guys were running around and sustaining blocks. Hopefully that’ll carry over… to Sunday.”

Dallas supporters had better hope that improved blocking is enough to overcome Kansas City’s motivational edge. At 7-4 the Cowboys are just a win behind the New York Giants in the NFC East. But at 8-4 and third place in the ultra competitive AFC West, the Chiefs will likely need this win to keep their playoff hopes in good standing.

“It’s going to take a better record in the AFC to make the playoffs than in the case of the Cowboys,” explains Pierce. “Plus K.C.’s last three games (at New York Giants, and San Diego and Cincinnati at home) are against teams with a combined record of 25-11.”

Oddsmakers have Sunday’s total at 43 ½.

Logical · 12-10-2005, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCJohnny

That didn't take long.

I talk football, you talk Proctor. Don't blame me!

Go Chiefs!

That was not criticism, quit being paranoid.

milkman · 12-10-2005, 10:03 PM

Johnny, you should also note that the defense is on the upswing.

KCJohnny · 12-10-2005, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SideWinder

Johnny, you should also note that the defense is on the upswing.

Believe me, I am excited about this defense. Derrick Johnson = Derrick Thomas; Pat Surtain = James Hasty; there is a LOT of potential here. Jared Allen is a BEAST; Ryan Sims is back with a vengeance. This O is on fire with Willie Roaf back and LJ rewriting the record books. I am thrilled to be 8-4 after a slow start (offensively) and I saw a stats that KC was only yielding a tough 285 YPG in the last 5 contests - that's TB/Bears level D.

Logical · 12-10-2005, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCJohnny

Believe me, I am excited about this defense. Derrick Johnson = Derrick Thomas; Pat Surtain = James Hasty; there is a LOT of potential here. Jared Allen is a BEAST; Ryan Sims is back with a vengeance. This O is on fire with Willie Roaf back and LJ rewriting the record books. I am thrilled to be 8-4 after a slow start (offensively) and I saw a stats that KC was only yielding a tough 285 YPG in the last 5 contests - that's TB/Bears level D.

Nice summary, yes we should be encouraged.

milkman · 12-10-2005, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCJohnny

Believe me, I am excited about this defense. Derrick Johnson = Derrick Thomas; Pat Surtain = James Hasty; there is a LOT of potential here. Jared Allen is a BEAST; Ryan Sims is back with a vengeance. This O is on fire with Willie Roaf back and LJ rewriting the record books. I am thrilled to be 8-4 after a slow start (offensively) and I saw a stats that KC was only yielding a tough 285 YPG in the last 5 contests - that's TB/Bears level D.

I'm pretty pleased about this team's direction, after 4+ years.

It's good to see a defense that can make some stops.

KCJohnny · 12-10-2005, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SideWinder

I'm pretty pleased about this team's direction, after 4+ years.

It's good to see a defense that can make some stops.

Yeah, but the plan was a SB in three years. DV is still hovering around .500, which is his career avg. Still, the decision to hire Gun is paying off bigtime, even without a major influx of defensive personnel. This D is really improvng every week. I think the D has a lot of pride, which was totally missing under Robinson. With the age of the Chiefs impact players, its this year or Rebuild for the Al Saunders era. I like where this team is now, not convinced that we can go all the way. That Bills game is a HUGE black eye.

milkman · 12-10-2005, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCJohnny

Yeah, but the plan was a SB in three years. DV is still hovering around .500, which is his career avg. Still, the decision to hire Gun is paying off bigtime, even without a major influx of defensive personnel. This D is really improvng every week. I think the D has a lot of pride, which was totally missing under Robinson. With the age of the Chiefs impact players, its this year or Rebuild for the Al Saunders era. I like where this team is now, not convinced that we can go all the way. That Bills game is a HUGE black eye.

I think we learn a lot about the Chiefs tomorrow.

If they come out a play at the level they are capable of, both this week, and next, then I think this team has a real chance to make some noise in the playoffs.

But they have to show us they can overcome their road woes.

Halfcan · 12-10-2005, 10:30 PM

Sorry but DJ does not equal DJ, and Surtain is a different kind of player than Hasty. And How is Simms back with a vengence again-did he even play last week?

Logical · 12-10-2005, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halfcan

Sorry but DJ does not equal DJ, and Surtain is a different kind of player than Hasty. And How is Simms back with a vengence again-did he even play last week?

LOL about DJ not equaling DJ I had to quote it before you had a chance to fix it.

KCJohnny · 12-10-2005, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halfcan

Sorry but DJ does not equal DJ, and Surtain is a different kind of player than Hasty. And How is Simms back with a vengence again-did he even play last week?

DJ is already better against the run than DT. And when he is allowed to rush the passer, he flattens them (Plummer knows this). Surtain = takeaways. Yes, Sims did play and made a strong impact.

milkman · 12-10-2005, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halfcan

Sorry but DJ does not equal DJ, and Surtain is a different kind of player than Hasty. And How is Simms back with a vengence again-did he even play last week?

I don't think Johnny's drawing a comparison between talent, but rather rookie LBs that have are/did help in changing the face of a defense.

Same for the Hasty/Surtain comparison.

It's not about style.
It's about affect.

And no, Simms didn't play.

Who the hell is Simms?

Sims, however, did play, and played pretty damn good, including blowing up the middle on that 4th down stop.

Halfcan · 12-10-2005, 10:38 PM

lol Thanks Vlad always have my back.

Okay check DT's stats his rookie year when he won Def Rookie of the year. He had more huge game changing plays. I saw every one of his home games and he was amazing. Nothing against DJ-he is awesome and a great pic-but the comparisons to DT are a bit early.

**Skip Towne** · 12-10-2005, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vlad Logicslav

LOL about DJ not equaling DJ I had to quote it before you had a chance to fix it.

Did you catch the part about "Did Sims even play last week" ? Never mind that 4th down stop he was in on. Keep providing us with material Halfwit.

Halfcan · 12-10-2005, 10:42 PM

And yes Simms had a nice second half-but I will wait until he has one good year to not think of him as a major bust. He started off pretty descent before getting hurt-if he can consistently blow up the middle-it would be a huge boost to the running D and also maybe chase a few QB'S Allens way.

milkman · 12-10-2005, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halfcan

lol Thanks Vlad always have my back.

Okay check DT's stats his rookie year when he won Def Rookie of the year. He had more huge game changing plays. I saw every one of his home games and he was amazing. Nothing against DJ-he is awesome and a great pic-but the comparisons to DT are a bit early.

Over the course of his career, there will be no comparison.

DT was great at what he did.
He was a playmaker, and game changer as a pass rusher, but he was one dimensional.

DJ is the whole package.
Where using DT as more than a pass rusher was a waste of his singular talent, using DJ only as a pass rusher would be a huge waste of his talents.

DJ is, and will be, a far more complete player than DT.

12-08-2005, 09:47 PM
C-Mac Lurker Extraordinaire Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Wally World Casino cash: $1963699	Cowboys plan? Run like clockwork http://www.covers.com/articles/artic...761&tid=27&t=1 Cowboys plan? Run like clockwork By Andrew Folkes Thu, Dec 8, 2005 Coach Bill Parcells knows that even under ideal circumstances his Dallas Cowboys would have a tough time keeping the Kansas City Chiefs off the scoreboard as 3-point favorites Sunday. Unfortunately, these are not ideal circumstances, in particularly those surrounding the secondary. Starting cornerback Aaron Glenn missed Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury while position mate Anthony Henry was held out of Dallas’ last four contests with a groin strain. Both are listed as questionable. “I think our defense will be challenged this week to a greater degree than it has all season,” he told the San Antonio Express News. “They have a pretty good array of talent to deal with, so we just have to be at our best.” A wounded secondary doesn’t bode well against K.C.’s ninth-ranked air attack. But because the Chiefs have a rush-based offense, oddsmakers weren’t overly concerned with the Cowboys` cornerback situation when they set Sunday’s line. “[A secondary’s effect on the pointspread] depends on if they are playing a run or pass oriented team,” explains betWWTS.com linesman Michael Pierce. “K.C. loves to run the ball, plus the secondary is one of Dallas’ strengths, so the effects are minimal.” The Chiefs’ love of the ground game is perhaps even more troubling for Dallas backers considering how susceptible their team has become to the run lately. Although ranked No. 10 in rushing defense, the Cowboys have given up nearly 110 yards to opposing ball carriers through their past three games. They now have to deal with Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, who’s averaged 156.6 yards and scored five majors in his last three outings. “[That] is becoming an ugly trend the past couple of weeks," defensive end Chris Canty said. "We don`t like to do that.” The Cowboys believe their best defense is a solid rush offense of their own. Parcells had his offensive backs, receivers and linemen focused primarily on their blocking in the midweek practice. Parcells hopes Dallas can rag the clock enough to keep Johnson off the field for any length of time. “Today we had an excellent practice,” right guard Marco Rivera told reporters Wednesday. “Guys were running around and sustaining blocks. Hopefully that’ll carry over… to Sunday.” Dallas supporters had better hope that improved blocking is enough to overcome Kansas City’s motivational edge. At 7-4 the Cowboys are just a win behind the New York Giants in the NFC East. But at 8-4 and third place in the ultra competitive AFC West, the Chiefs will likely need this win to keep their playoff hopes in good standing. “It’s going to take a better record in the AFC to make the playoffs than in the case of the Cowboys,” explains Pierce. “Plus K.C.’s last three games (at New York Giants, and San Diego and Cincinnati at home) are against teams with a combined record of 25-11.” Oddsmakers have Sunday’s total at 43 ½.
Posts: 5,637

12-10-2005, 10:03 PM	#32
milkman Dumbass! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Leading the Marty bashing Casino cash: $10029395	Johnny, you should also note that the defense is on the upswing. __________________
Posts: 70,769

12-10-2005, 10:30 PM	#38
Halfcan In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2005 Casino cash: $7327995	Sorry but DJ does not equal DJ, and Surtain is a different kind of player than Hasty. And How is Simms back with a vengence again-did he even play last week?
Posts: 43,200

12-10-2005, 10:38 PM	#42
Halfcan In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2005 Casino cash: $7327995	lol Thanks Vlad always have my back. Okay check DT's stats his rookie year when he won Def Rookie of the year. He had more huge game changing plays. I saw every one of his home games and he was amazing. Nothing against DJ-he is awesome and a great pic-but the comparisons to DT are a bit early.
Posts: 43,200

12-10-2005, 10:42 PM	#44
Halfcan In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2005 Casino cash: $7327995	And yes Simms had a nice second half-but I will wait until he has one good year to not think of him as a major bust. He started off pretty descent before getting hurt-if he can consistently blow up the middle-it would be a huge boost to the running D and also maybe chase a few QB'S Allens way.
Posts: 43,200