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A line on the Eagles-Cowboys game
By Bob Brookover
Inquirer Staff Writer
You're going to hear about Terrell Owens and Tony Romo, Jason Witten and Marion Barber. You're going to hear about Brian Westbrook and Donovan McNabb, DeSean Jackson and L.J. Smith.
Know this: None of the above will determine the outcome of Monday night's epic Week 2 grudge match between the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.
Sure, one of the above might throw or catch or run for the winning touchdown, but the difference makers in the Eagles' final regular-season game at Texas Stadium will not be the "skill" players.
The winner of this game will be the team that does a better job of protecting its own quarterback and pressuring the other team's quarterback into mistakes. The winner of this game will be the team with the better front seven on defense and the better offensive line.
You may be bored whenever Eagles coach Andy Reid says, "It all begins with the offensive and defensive lines," but that philosophy has made his team a Super Bowl contender during most of his 10 seasons in Philadelphia.
Sure, the story line these days in Dallas is T.O. and Romo, but the bottom-line reason the Cowboys are better is because of how much they have improved in recent years along the offensive and defensive lines.
If you watched Dallas' season-opening win at Cleveland, you probably noticed how neat Romo's uniform looked after every play. Good pass rushes only require a count of three-Mississippi before the quarterback is planted on the playing field. Romo could have done the backstroke across the mighty Mississippi without feeling any pressure to throw against the Browns.
Romo completed 24 of 32 passes for 320 yards. His offensive line, anchored by veteran tackles Flozell Adams and Marc Colombo with Pro Bowl center Andre Gurode in the middle, made it look easy.
Of course, Donovan McNabb's big day against the St. Louis Rams was equally effortless because Tra Thomas, Todd Herremans, Jamaal Jackson, Shawn Andrews and Jon Runyan kept the quarterback cleaner than Disney World's Main Street USA.
Give guys like Romo and McNabb time and watch the scoreboard light up, especially when they have talent like Owens and Jackson, Barber and Westbrook, Witten and Smith making plays.
If teams pressure quarterbacks like Romo and McNabb, they can become every bit as pedestrian as Rex Grossman.
Both teams have good evidence of that on film.
To understand how the Eagles have won in Dallas in each of the last two seasons, look at the pressure they put on Romo.
When the Eagles stunned us all on Christmas night two years ago, the Cowboys were a red-hot team with a white-hot young quarterback that had a chance to clinch the NFC East title at home. Instead, they lost to Jeff Garcia and the Eagles, who went on to win their fifth and most shocking division title under Reid.
The pressure the Eagles put on Romo and the offensive line's ability to protect Garcia had more to do with the outcome than anything else. Romo was sacked three times that night. Result: Eagles 23, Cowboys 7.
Fast-forward to the first meeting between the teams a year ago at Lincoln Financial Field: McNabb forced throws and fumbled the football while trying to escape from pressure. He was sacked three times while Romo remained as clean as he was against the Browns with a similar result: Cowboys 38, Eagles 17.
Six weeks later, with the Eagles out of contention but the Cowboys still trying to lock up home-field advantage, it was an entirely different story. Both defenses dominated that game, with each quarterback being dropped four times.
Romo, however, made more mistakes under duress, throwing three interceptions as the high-powered Cowboys failed to score a touchdown for the first time all season. McNabb did not throw an interception and the Eagles won, 10-6.
Both teams have the personnel to bring the pressure on defense.
Like Reid, former Cowboys coach Bill Parcells understood the importance of the guys up front. He used four of his eight picks on defensive linemen or linebackers in the 2005 draft, including two in the first round. All four - DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Chris Canty and Jay Ratliff - are now starters.
The Eagles, meanwhile, appear to have their fastest and most athletic linebackers since Jeremiah Trotter, Carlos Emmons and Shawn Barber earlier this decade, along with - at least for now - a healthy rotation of defensive tackles and ends.
If the Eagles are to pull off yet another upset in Big D, it will be because Trent Cole forced a mistake by Romo or Stewart Bradley got to the quarterback on a linebacker blitz, a mission that seemed impossible a year ago. If the Cowboys win at home for just the third time in the last nine years against the Eagles, it will be because Ware got past Thomas and pressured McNabb.
You're going to hear a lot about T.O. and Romo, Donovan and Westbrook, but this game is going to be about the guys you seldom hear about.
By Bob Brookover
Inquirer Staff Writer
You're going to hear about Terrell Owens and Tony Romo, Jason Witten and Marion Barber. You're going to hear about Brian Westbrook and Donovan McNabb, DeSean Jackson and L.J. Smith.
Know this: None of the above will determine the outcome of Monday night's epic Week 2 grudge match between the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.
Sure, one of the above might throw or catch or run for the winning touchdown, but the difference makers in the Eagles' final regular-season game at Texas Stadium will not be the "skill" players.
The winner of this game will be the team that does a better job of protecting its own quarterback and pressuring the other team's quarterback into mistakes. The winner of this game will be the team with the better front seven on defense and the better offensive line.
You may be bored whenever Eagles coach Andy Reid says, "It all begins with the offensive and defensive lines," but that philosophy has made his team a Super Bowl contender during most of his 10 seasons in Philadelphia.
Sure, the story line these days in Dallas is T.O. and Romo, but the bottom-line reason the Cowboys are better is because of how much they have improved in recent years along the offensive and defensive lines.
If you watched Dallas' season-opening win at Cleveland, you probably noticed how neat Romo's uniform looked after every play. Good pass rushes only require a count of three-Mississippi before the quarterback is planted on the playing field. Romo could have done the backstroke across the mighty Mississippi without feeling any pressure to throw against the Browns.
Romo completed 24 of 32 passes for 320 yards. His offensive line, anchored by veteran tackles Flozell Adams and Marc Colombo with Pro Bowl center Andre Gurode in the middle, made it look easy.
Of course, Donovan McNabb's big day against the St. Louis Rams was equally effortless because Tra Thomas, Todd Herremans, Jamaal Jackson, Shawn Andrews and Jon Runyan kept the quarterback cleaner than Disney World's Main Street USA.
Give guys like Romo and McNabb time and watch the scoreboard light up, especially when they have talent like Owens and Jackson, Barber and Westbrook, Witten and Smith making plays.
If teams pressure quarterbacks like Romo and McNabb, they can become every bit as pedestrian as Rex Grossman.
Both teams have good evidence of that on film.
To understand how the Eagles have won in Dallas in each of the last two seasons, look at the pressure they put on Romo.
When the Eagles stunned us all on Christmas night two years ago, the Cowboys were a red-hot team with a white-hot young quarterback that had a chance to clinch the NFC East title at home. Instead, they lost to Jeff Garcia and the Eagles, who went on to win their fifth and most shocking division title under Reid.
The pressure the Eagles put on Romo and the offensive line's ability to protect Garcia had more to do with the outcome than anything else. Romo was sacked three times that night. Result: Eagles 23, Cowboys 7.
Fast-forward to the first meeting between the teams a year ago at Lincoln Financial Field: McNabb forced throws and fumbled the football while trying to escape from pressure. He was sacked three times while Romo remained as clean as he was against the Browns with a similar result: Cowboys 38, Eagles 17.
Six weeks later, with the Eagles out of contention but the Cowboys still trying to lock up home-field advantage, it was an entirely different story. Both defenses dominated that game, with each quarterback being dropped four times.
Romo, however, made more mistakes under duress, throwing three interceptions as the high-powered Cowboys failed to score a touchdown for the first time all season. McNabb did not throw an interception and the Eagles won, 10-6.
Both teams have the personnel to bring the pressure on defense.
Like Reid, former Cowboys coach Bill Parcells understood the importance of the guys up front. He used four of his eight picks on defensive linemen or linebackers in the 2005 draft, including two in the first round. All four - DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Chris Canty and Jay Ratliff - are now starters.
The Eagles, meanwhile, appear to have their fastest and most athletic linebackers since Jeremiah Trotter, Carlos Emmons and Shawn Barber earlier this decade, along with - at least for now - a healthy rotation of defensive tackles and ends.
If the Eagles are to pull off yet another upset in Big D, it will be because Trent Cole forced a mistake by Romo or Stewart Bradley got to the quarterback on a linebacker blitz, a mission that seemed impossible a year ago. If the Cowboys win at home for just the third time in the last nine years against the Eagles, it will be because Ware got past Thomas and pressured McNabb.
You're going to hear a lot about T.O. and Romo, Donovan and Westbrook, but this game is going to be about the guys you seldom hear about.
