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Cowboys’ depth swallows defense
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Sept. 22, 2008
Green Bay - If the Dallas Cowboys were a one-dimensional team with little more than a quarterback and two big-time receivers, the plan Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Bob Sanders had for them Sunday night would have been a winner.
But the Cowboys offense isn’t a one-, two- or three-man team.
Rather they’re a unit whose production comes from many different sources as the Packers painfully discovered in a 27-16 defeat in front of a record crowd of 71,113 at Lambeau Field.
Unlike a year ago, when receiver Terrell Owens and tight end Jason Witten dominated the Packers defense, this night belonged to the likes of Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Miles Austin. Those three took advantage of the extra attention the Packers paid to Owens and Witten and showed everyone why the Cowboys are one of the best teams in the NFL.
“We definitely tried to keep them out of the game,” linebacker Brandon Chillar said of Owens and Witten. “But they’re a good team. Other guys stepped up. That’s the game of football. We got beat.”
A new plan
During the week of practice leading up to the game it was evident Sanders wasn’t going to use his previous strategy of lining up cornerback Al Harris on Owens and do what he could about Witten.
Instead, he used Charles Woodson to shadow him all over the field and replaced strong-side linebacker Brady Poppinga with Brandon Chillar. Woodson didn’t practice all week because of a broken toe, but the Packers were more than confident he was up to the task, and Chillar definitely had a better chance against Witten because of his speed.
To make sure, Owens and Witten didn’t hurt him, Sanders devoted safety Nick Collins to play over the top of Owens and gave Chillar help with the other safety whenever he could.
The result was a basic seven-man front to go against Dallas’ massive offensive line and its steamroller of a running back, Barber. For a while it worked, but Barber wore the defense down and quarterback Tony Romo made just enough big plays to make the Packers look bad.
“We kind of knew it,” nose tackle Ryan Pickett said of the front seven having to be the ones to hold up without additional help. “We felt like we could do it with our seven. We’re capable of doing it. We just made a lot of errors. We missed a lot of tackles.
“That was uncharacteristic of our defense, especially against the run.”
Barber grinds out 142 yards
Barber was a sledgehammer, pounding out 142 yards in 28 carries, while rookie Felix Jones’ one play of note — a 60-yard touchdown run that gave the Cowboys a 10-6 lead — complemented him perfectly. All told, the Cowboys rushed for 217 yards and averaged 6.2 yards per carry.
For the most part, Owens and Witten didn’t hurt the Packers. Owens caught just two passes for 17 yards and Witten chipped in seven for 67. Neither scored.
Witten did have four third-down receptions that kept the chains moving, but through the first three quarters, only one of them came on a drive in which the Cowboys scored, and that was a field goal.
It was Barber, however, who proved to be the toughest Cowboy to handle. Running behind a line of 330-pound behemoths, he didn’t have to worry about too much penetration and just waited for a hole or a side of the field to open.
“He’s real patient, but he’s explosive,” defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins said of the 6-foot, 225-pound Barber. “He’s a guy who can wait and pick his holes and then really explode with force. It makes it tough if you don’t have the right angle or you don’t tackle him right. He’ll break it or he’ll run away from it.”
Having to worry about both Owens and Witten made it more difficult to handle Barber. Chillar said he was constantly on the edge, making sure he had Witten covered but also trying to be cognizant of Barber getting the ball.
The result was too many players where Barber was able to run over single tacklers and get six to eight yards.
“It is a gray area,” Chillar said of playing both the run and the pass. “But that’s what we get paid for. They just made a couple of big plays on us.”
Romo makes Packers pay
Romo, who completed 17 of 30 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown with one interception, made the Packers pay big for their attention to Owens. In the middle of the third quarter, he spotted safety Nick Collins playing over the top of both Owens and Austin on the right side of the field.
When Collins shaded too far toward Owens, Austin broke to the post and left Collins in the dust for a 63-yard reception. That play broke open a 13-9 game and put the Cowboys in total control. Later in the fourth, Romo spotted Austin one-on-one with cornerback Tramon Williams and fired a 52-yard touchdown pass that put the Packers away.
“The game plan, we definitely talked about staying on top of their star players,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “That’s game-planning. You try to take away one thing, and you obviously have a one-on-one on the other side. That’s usually how it works.”
The Packers entered without starting safety Atari Bigby (hamstring), and through the course of the game lost cornerback Al Harris (cramps) and Collins (back). It’s questionable whether those loses would have made a difference against a team so deep and talented on offense.
“We have to learn from this,” linebacker A.J. Hawk said. “Especially giving up so many rushing yards.”
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By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Sept. 22, 2008
Green Bay - If the Dallas Cowboys were a one-dimensional team with little more than a quarterback and two big-time receivers, the plan Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Bob Sanders had for them Sunday night would have been a winner.
But the Cowboys offense isn’t a one-, two- or three-man team.
Rather they’re a unit whose production comes from many different sources as the Packers painfully discovered in a 27-16 defeat in front of a record crowd of 71,113 at Lambeau Field.
Unlike a year ago, when receiver Terrell Owens and tight end Jason Witten dominated the Packers defense, this night belonged to the likes of Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Miles Austin. Those three took advantage of the extra attention the Packers paid to Owens and Witten and showed everyone why the Cowboys are one of the best teams in the NFL.
“We definitely tried to keep them out of the game,” linebacker Brandon Chillar said of Owens and Witten. “But they’re a good team. Other guys stepped up. That’s the game of football. We got beat.”
A new plan
During the week of practice leading up to the game it was evident Sanders wasn’t going to use his previous strategy of lining up cornerback Al Harris on Owens and do what he could about Witten.
Instead, he used Charles Woodson to shadow him all over the field and replaced strong-side linebacker Brady Poppinga with Brandon Chillar. Woodson didn’t practice all week because of a broken toe, but the Packers were more than confident he was up to the task, and Chillar definitely had a better chance against Witten because of his speed.
To make sure, Owens and Witten didn’t hurt him, Sanders devoted safety Nick Collins to play over the top of Owens and gave Chillar help with the other safety whenever he could.
The result was a basic seven-man front to go against Dallas’ massive offensive line and its steamroller of a running back, Barber. For a while it worked, but Barber wore the defense down and quarterback Tony Romo made just enough big plays to make the Packers look bad.
“We kind of knew it,” nose tackle Ryan Pickett said of the front seven having to be the ones to hold up without additional help. “We felt like we could do it with our seven. We’re capable of doing it. We just made a lot of errors. We missed a lot of tackles.
“That was uncharacteristic of our defense, especially against the run.”
Barber grinds out 142 yards
Barber was a sledgehammer, pounding out 142 yards in 28 carries, while rookie Felix Jones’ one play of note — a 60-yard touchdown run that gave the Cowboys a 10-6 lead — complemented him perfectly. All told, the Cowboys rushed for 217 yards and averaged 6.2 yards per carry.
For the most part, Owens and Witten didn’t hurt the Packers. Owens caught just two passes for 17 yards and Witten chipped in seven for 67. Neither scored.
Witten did have four third-down receptions that kept the chains moving, but through the first three quarters, only one of them came on a drive in which the Cowboys scored, and that was a field goal.
It was Barber, however, who proved to be the toughest Cowboy to handle. Running behind a line of 330-pound behemoths, he didn’t have to worry about too much penetration and just waited for a hole or a side of the field to open.
“He’s real patient, but he’s explosive,” defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins said of the 6-foot, 225-pound Barber. “He’s a guy who can wait and pick his holes and then really explode with force. It makes it tough if you don’t have the right angle or you don’t tackle him right. He’ll break it or he’ll run away from it.”
Having to worry about both Owens and Witten made it more difficult to handle Barber. Chillar said he was constantly on the edge, making sure he had Witten covered but also trying to be cognizant of Barber getting the ball.
The result was too many players where Barber was able to run over single tacklers and get six to eight yards.
“It is a gray area,” Chillar said of playing both the run and the pass. “But that’s what we get paid for. They just made a couple of big plays on us.”
Romo makes Packers pay
Romo, who completed 17 of 30 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown with one interception, made the Packers pay big for their attention to Owens. In the middle of the third quarter, he spotted safety Nick Collins playing over the top of both Owens and Austin on the right side of the field.
When Collins shaded too far toward Owens, Austin broke to the post and left Collins in the dust for a 63-yard reception. That play broke open a 13-9 game and put the Cowboys in total control. Later in the fourth, Romo spotted Austin one-on-one with cornerback Tramon Williams and fired a 52-yard touchdown pass that put the Packers away.
“The game plan, we definitely talked about staying on top of their star players,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “That’s game-planning. You try to take away one thing, and you obviously have a one-on-one on the other side. That’s usually how it works.”
The Packers entered without starting safety Atari Bigby (hamstring), and through the course of the game lost cornerback Al Harris (cramps) and Collins (back). It’s questionable whether those loses would have made a difference against a team so deep and talented on offense.
“We have to learn from this,” linebacker A.J. Hawk said. “Especially giving up so many rushing yards.”
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