CNN-SI - Scout's View Dallas-Buffalo

[Chocolate Lab]

Monday night game plan
Keys to victory for Cowboys and Bills matchup
Posted: Monday October 8, 2007 4:10PM; Updated: Monday October 8, 2007 4:11PM

Dallas at Buffalo
Cowboys tight end Jason Witten has 20 catches for 304 yards and three touchdowns in the first four games of the season.


Cowboys' Game Plan

• Knock 'em out. Dallas' high-octane offense got off to a slow start against the Rams before exploding for 35 points and rolling up over 500 yards of total offense. Against the Bills' injured-riddled defense, the Cowboys will attempt to knock them out with an early offensive explosion. Tony Romo will use tight end Jason Witten to set the table with a series of completions over the middle before taking deep shots to Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton down the sideline.

• Confuse Trent Edwards. The return of Greg Ellis to the starting line up allows defensive coordinator Brian Stewart to use multiple looks out of the 3-4 to confuse the Bills' young starter. The Cowboys brought more pressure last week against the Rams and they will rev it up against a Bills' offense that has struggled moving the ball consistently. Look for DeMarcus Ware and Greg Ellis to have big games as Stewart breaks out more zone dogs to pressure Edwards.

Bills' Game Plan

• Bend, but don't break. The Bills' undermanned defense lacks the firepower to completely bottle up the Cowboys' big-play offense. The Bills will not expose their young secondary to Witten and Owens in man-to-man match ups. Instead they will sit in their two-deep coverage and force Romo to drive the ball down the field on a series of short throws. Look for the Bills to concede yardage underneath while eliminating the deep throw with their soft umbrella coverage.

• Attack the Cowboys' secondary. Edwards' insertion into the line up ignited the Bills' dormant passing game. He threw the ball on time and did an excellent job of distributing the ball to multiple receivers. Against a Cowboys' defense that has suffered from coverage breakdowns, Edwards will attack their vulnerable secondary. Look for Edwards to work the ball underneath to Josh Reed and Micheal Gaines before taking vertical shots to Roscoe Parrish and Lee Evans.

 

[THUMPER]

Witten is on pace for 80 receptions, 1200+ yards and 12 TDs. That's pretty outstanding!

If the Bills play a soft zone and try to run the Mike Zimmer defense then we will simply run the ball down their throats. We are averaging over 150 yards per game on the ground and we really haven't gotten untracked yet. Also, giving Romo all day to throw is a dumb idea as SOMEONE will eventually get open (something Camp/Zimmer never figured out).

I predict a bloodbath: Cowboys 59 - Bills 13 (what it should have been...)

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Ed Werder was just on Galloway and he said the feeling up there is that they will play coverage and make us run it just to slow down the tempo of the game and keep it close. Guess they think they might then win it with a big play or two.

I think this will be a tougher game than people expect. It's hard to say why, but I went to the Bills website and watched a bunch of interviews, etc. and they seem to be a fairly confident, professional bunch. (Their coach was less impressive than any of their players.) And two of their three losses, to the Steelers and Pats, are to very good teams.

We should still win, but I think this team is a lot better than the Rams, even with a rookie QB. We need to get up on them early and keep their crowd out of it. I'd hate for them to get a big play or two out of Evans and start believing they can win.

 

[L-O-Jete]

I predict a bloodbath: Cowboys 59 - Bills 13 (what it should have been...)

I still say Reich was over the line on that last TD, take another td off the bills and you've got it.

 

[TunaFan33]

Ed Werder was just on Galloway and he said the feeling up there is that they will play coverage and make us run it just to slow down the tempo of the game and keep it close. Guess they think they might then win it with a big play or two.

I think this will be a tougher game than people expect. It's hard to say why, but I went to the Bills website and watched a bunch of interviews, etc. and they seem to be a fairly confident, professional bunch. (Their coach was less impressive than any of their players.) And two of their three losses, to the Steelers and Pats, are to very good teams.

We should still win, but I think this team is a lot better than the Rams, even with a rookie QB. We need to get up on them early and keep their crowd out of it. I'd hate for them to get a big play or two out of Evans and start believing they can win.

With a depleted secondary, there's NO WAY they can blitz. Actually, this is a good thing b/c time-consuming drives will just wear down their undersized, injured D.