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Strength vs. Strength
Perhaps the most pivotal matchup of Sunday's game will come when the Cowboys offense goes into long yardage against the Giants defense.
That's when New York rolls out its four-end line, with Mathias Kiwanuka (a natural end who starts as an on-the-line strong-side linebacker), Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora take the field together. And those four have done plenty to pull new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo from his blitz-happy roots, born under Jim Johnson in Philly, because the quartet creates more than enough pressure on its own.
The four above have combined for 23.5 of the Giants' 30 sacks, and the team total is five more than any other defense's.
"You put people in position where the matchups are in their favor," Giants coach Tom Couglin said earlier in the week. "Everyone tries to do it. With us, it’s been something we believed we could accomplish with those four ends."
They've certainly done that. But the Cowboys offensive line hasn't exactly been sieve, either. Tony Romo's been sacked just 11 times, and the team's per-pass-play sack figure ranks seventh league-wide.
So this really is a case of one team's strength against another's. The Giant pass rushers know they're good. And so do the Cowboy linemen.
"They’re doing their thing," guard Leonard Davis said. "We can’t really worry about them, we got to worry about ourselves because that’s what we can control. So we’re not worried about what they can do, it’s what we do."
A key here? Win first down, and stay out of long-yardage situations, keeping the Giants from putting those four on the field at the same time, which happens when the team kicks down to its nickel look. That way, you won't have to block all four at once.
We'll have more on this matchup in tomorrow morning's SportsDay section.
Posted by Albert Breer http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/standing/icons/email.gif at 6:57 PM
Perhaps the most pivotal matchup of Sunday's game will come when the Cowboys offense goes into long yardage against the Giants defense.
That's when New York rolls out its four-end line, with Mathias Kiwanuka (a natural end who starts as an on-the-line strong-side linebacker), Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora take the field together. And those four have done plenty to pull new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo from his blitz-happy roots, born under Jim Johnson in Philly, because the quartet creates more than enough pressure on its own.
The four above have combined for 23.5 of the Giants' 30 sacks, and the team total is five more than any other defense's.
"You put people in position where the matchups are in their favor," Giants coach Tom Couglin said earlier in the week. "Everyone tries to do it. With us, it’s been something we believed we could accomplish with those four ends."
They've certainly done that. But the Cowboys offensive line hasn't exactly been sieve, either. Tony Romo's been sacked just 11 times, and the team's per-pass-play sack figure ranks seventh league-wide.
So this really is a case of one team's strength against another's. The Giant pass rushers know they're good. And so do the Cowboy linemen.
"They’re doing their thing," guard Leonard Davis said. "We can’t really worry about them, we got to worry about ourselves because that’s what we can control. So we’re not worried about what they can do, it’s what we do."
A key here? Win first down, and stay out of long-yardage situations, keeping the Giants from putting those four on the field at the same time, which happens when the team kicks down to its nickel look. That way, you won't have to block all four at once.
We'll have more on this matchup in tomorrow morning's SportsDay section.
Posted by Albert Breer http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/standing/icons/email.gif at 6:57 PM
