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IRVING, Texas—Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch can still go beast mode and remains one of the league's most feared running backs. But when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys defense in Sunday's game against the Seahawks, the primary focus will be on containing dynamic quarterback Russell Wilson.
He is the one who now makes the offense go for the defending Super Bowl champions. That was never more evident than in the 27-17 victory against the Washington Commanders in Week 5.
Wilson completed 18 of 24 attempts for 201 yards, two scores and rushed for a career-high 122 yards and a touchdown. And that doesn't include three touchdown passes to receiver Percy Harvin that were called back by penalties.Wilson is arguably the league's best dual-threat quarterback and is rising up the ladder as one of the best period. He already has a Super Bowl ring and has come into the 2014 taking his game to another level. The former bus-driver quarterback currently ranks third in the NFL passing, behind only Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and San Diego’s Philip Rivers. Yes, he is ahead of Denver's Peyton Manning, Indianapolis' Andrew Luck and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
Wilson simply went viral against the Commanders, becoming one of four quarterbacks in NFL history with 200 yards passing and two touchdowns and 100 yards rushing and a touchdown in a single game. The Cowboys watched the Monday night game in awe and certainly took notice. "He is definitely the one to stop," safety Barry Church said. "He controls the whole thing. He orchestrates everything. He gets everybody in the right spots. Sometimes they will have designed runs and he will pull it on his own. He is definitely the deciding factor on their offense what they are doing."
Wilson has always been mature beyond his in years in terms of decision-making. His ability to make plays has risen exponentially in his third year. He has always been dangerous as a runner and a passer. But it's his improvisational skills, which Wilson is showing off more and more, that ultimately drives opponents crazy. He scrambles out of trouble on passing plays to run. He scrambles to pass. He also makes Houdini escapes from potential sacks that are often back breakers for the defense.Or he will just make something up on his own, which an incredulous Church noted from watching film of the Commanders game.
"Sometimes they will have designed runs and he will pull it on his own," Church said. "There was a power run called on second-and-6 against Washington. He pulled it on his own. The blocking scheme was going for the power and he just pulled it out and ran it for about 30 yards."
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett compared preparing for Wilson to getting ready for Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers in the season opener. But he intimated that Wilson might be on another level.
The stats certainly say so as Wilson has a 112.9 quarterback rating, compared to 91.3 for Kaepernick, who ranks 17th. Wilson is also 28th in the league in rushing among all runners with a league-high 7.2 yards per carry. Kaepernick is averaging just 4.8 yards per scramble. "Yeah, the quarterback is a really good player," Garrett said. "He’s very good throwing from the pocket. He’s very good in space. He’s got a good feel for the game. And he seems to throw all kinds of balls. He does designed quarterback runs. He runs naked and boots. And he scrambles. So he’s out in space a lot. If you watched the game the other night, if you watch him really throughout his career, he makes a lot of those kinds of plays, little plays, big plays with his feet, keeps his eyes up, makes throws down the field, but again plays very well within their system as well. He can make plays. Designed plays out in space, but also just plays with their feet when things break down."
The Cowboys have preached discipline, lane integrity, gap control and doing your job to their defenders all week, especially the defensive ends. They also instructed them to slow down on the pass rush and keep their lane integrity to contain Wilson from making broken plays on the edge. "It goes back to discipline man," defensive end Jeremy Mincey said. "If you watch films on guys, guys are getting out of their gaps and over pursuing. You can’t blame them. They’re just trying to make a play. With this team you’ve got to be focused and disciplined and swarm the ball and have a bunch of hats on Marshawn and just be aware of Russell’s feet. They’re moving around so much. Wilson is obviously very talented and we just got to keep him in the pocket and be smart, can’t over pursue on the back side. We just got to stay disciplined, gap discipline."
Discipline is a word the Cowboys have harped on all week in getting ready for Wilson. Gap discipline. Discipline with their rush lanes. Discipline with their technique."Yes that's the name of the game man," Mincey said. "The smart teams win. You just go to be aware of all situations and you got have to have that sixth sense that anything is possible within the snap. It’s going to slow down a few things. Their offense will slow down your rush but just being disciplined can change it all. We just have to be disciplined. That's it."
So what word describes the theme of the week in the Cowboys locker room as they get ready to play the Seahawks and the dynamic Wilson?
"It would be 'discipline'," Mincey said with a laugh. The Cowboys are hoping they all have something to chuckle about Sunday. Until then, Wilson has given them a lot to be disciplined about.
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...
He is the one who now makes the offense go for the defending Super Bowl champions. That was never more evident than in the 27-17 victory against the Washington Commanders in Week 5.
Wilson completed 18 of 24 attempts for 201 yards, two scores and rushed for a career-high 122 yards and a touchdown. And that doesn't include three touchdown passes to receiver Percy Harvin that were called back by penalties.Wilson is arguably the league's best dual-threat quarterback and is rising up the ladder as one of the best period. He already has a Super Bowl ring and has come into the 2014 taking his game to another level. The former bus-driver quarterback currently ranks third in the NFL passing, behind only Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and San Diego’s Philip Rivers. Yes, he is ahead of Denver's Peyton Manning, Indianapolis' Andrew Luck and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
Wilson simply went viral against the Commanders, becoming one of four quarterbacks in NFL history with 200 yards passing and two touchdowns and 100 yards rushing and a touchdown in a single game. The Cowboys watched the Monday night game in awe and certainly took notice. "He is definitely the one to stop," safety Barry Church said. "He controls the whole thing. He orchestrates everything. He gets everybody in the right spots. Sometimes they will have designed runs and he will pull it on his own. He is definitely the deciding factor on their offense what they are doing."
Wilson has always been mature beyond his in years in terms of decision-making. His ability to make plays has risen exponentially in his third year. He has always been dangerous as a runner and a passer. But it's his improvisational skills, which Wilson is showing off more and more, that ultimately drives opponents crazy. He scrambles out of trouble on passing plays to run. He scrambles to pass. He also makes Houdini escapes from potential sacks that are often back breakers for the defense.Or he will just make something up on his own, which an incredulous Church noted from watching film of the Commanders game.
"Sometimes they will have designed runs and he will pull it on his own," Church said. "There was a power run called on second-and-6 against Washington. He pulled it on his own. The blocking scheme was going for the power and he just pulled it out and ran it for about 30 yards."
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett compared preparing for Wilson to getting ready for Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers in the season opener. But he intimated that Wilson might be on another level.
The stats certainly say so as Wilson has a 112.9 quarterback rating, compared to 91.3 for Kaepernick, who ranks 17th. Wilson is also 28th in the league in rushing among all runners with a league-high 7.2 yards per carry. Kaepernick is averaging just 4.8 yards per scramble. "Yeah, the quarterback is a really good player," Garrett said. "He’s very good throwing from the pocket. He’s very good in space. He’s got a good feel for the game. And he seems to throw all kinds of balls. He does designed quarterback runs. He runs naked and boots. And he scrambles. So he’s out in space a lot. If you watched the game the other night, if you watch him really throughout his career, he makes a lot of those kinds of plays, little plays, big plays with his feet, keeps his eyes up, makes throws down the field, but again plays very well within their system as well. He can make plays. Designed plays out in space, but also just plays with their feet when things break down."
The Cowboys have preached discipline, lane integrity, gap control and doing your job to their defenders all week, especially the defensive ends. They also instructed them to slow down on the pass rush and keep their lane integrity to contain Wilson from making broken plays on the edge. "It goes back to discipline man," defensive end Jeremy Mincey said. "If you watch films on guys, guys are getting out of their gaps and over pursuing. You can’t blame them. They’re just trying to make a play. With this team you’ve got to be focused and disciplined and swarm the ball and have a bunch of hats on Marshawn and just be aware of Russell’s feet. They’re moving around so much. Wilson is obviously very talented and we just got to keep him in the pocket and be smart, can’t over pursue on the back side. We just got to stay disciplined, gap discipline."
Discipline is a word the Cowboys have harped on all week in getting ready for Wilson. Gap discipline. Discipline with their rush lanes. Discipline with their technique."Yes that's the name of the game man," Mincey said. "The smart teams win. You just go to be aware of all situations and you got have to have that sixth sense that anything is possible within the snap. It’s going to slow down a few things. Their offense will slow down your rush but just being disciplined can change it all. We just have to be disciplined. That's it."
So what word describes the theme of the week in the Cowboys locker room as they get ready to play the Seahawks and the dynamic Wilson?
"It would be 'discipline'," Mincey said with a laugh. The Cowboys are hoping they all have something to chuckle about Sunday. Until then, Wilson has given them a lot to be disciplined about.
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...