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THIS WEEK'S FOX NFL SUNDAY PANEL
Czar: "The Cowboys visit the Giants, who I think are the best team in the NFL. This is a big game in the NFC East."
Jimmy Johnson: "I don't know if this is a huge game for Dallas anymore. It's more of a bonus game to them if they can win it. But I'm not sure they can beat the Giants. I think in their minds that once they get Tony Romo back that they are going to be fine. But with Brad Johnson I think all they wanted to be able to do was split these two ballgames and they already beat Tampa Bay. If they could beat the Giants, it would be a huge bonus game for them."
TB: "I think you all know what I think of Brad Johnson. The guy has a tough time throwing a spiral. I wonder like fans in Texas if Brooks Bollinger can play."
Howie Long: "I agree with Jimmy in that I'm sure the Cowboys don't think they can win this game. Last week's win was huge for them."
JJ: "Had they not won last week, then they would have been desperate this week."
HL: "Not only that, but Jerry Jones would have been tested this week on whether or Wade Phillips is still the guy. No question about that."
JJ: "I don't think they really put a lot into this game."
Czar: "Are you saying they are going to mail it in?"
JJ: "They won't mail it in, but I don't think they will have the backs' against the wall attitude that they would have had if they lost to the Bucs."
HL: "In a way, the Cowboys can play a little looser because they have the bye coming up."
Michael Strahan: "If you go into the game with the right intentions, then you are all right. But if the Giants score early and get up on them, then you might see Dallas soften up, and maybe concede the game. My only thing is that everybody talks about Romo coming back, but they lost twice with him. Who says he's going to come back and be hot right off the bat? If they get punched in the mouth right away by the Giants, the Cowboys might start looking forward to the bye."
HL: "You look at the Giants and they are a very mentally tough team. You look at how the first half went for them in Pittsburgh last Sunday. To end up with just two field goals and then to get stopped at the goal line on fourth down, on the road, they had every chance to have the game slip away. But they continued to hang in there and ended up making a big play and they got a break when the long snapper gave them a safety. Kind of says a lot about New York."
Czar: "Pretty resilient bunch."
HL: "Kind of says a lot about their coach, Tom Coughlin."
MS: "Jimmy, the same things you were saying about Tennessee, is the same thing the Giants do. Run the ball and play solid defense. They know their offense can score, but they don't go into games thinking that way. Coughlin is big on talking about turnovers and giving yourselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter."
HL: "That's what winning teams do."
Czar: "The way you guys talk it doesn't sound that hard."
JJ: "Mike Martz hasn't figured it out yet."
Czar: "Jimmy has a feature in the show Sunday about how to beat Tennessee's great defense. What makes them so tough?"
Jimmy Johnson: "Well, the problem for every team is their defensive front and I'm not just talking about Albert Haynesworth. Tony Jones is a solid player and their linebackers, led by Keith Bullock, are really active. Titans coach Jeff Fisher wants his defense to be in an eight-man front as much as possible. So, any kind of run game, he's going to work it down to get into that front. Some coaches don't think their cornerbacks are that good, but the problem is they play a lot of Cover Two. They also disguise their coverage pretty well. Now, teams have to be able to run the ball effectively against them in order to isolate those cornerbacks and hit some seam routes against them like Peyton Manning did with Dallas Clark."
Terry Bradshaw: "They got after Peyton Manning pretty good, but what really impressed me was how tough they were on short yardage. They stuffed everything. They are a great tackling team."
JJ: "My only thoughts are that they do give teams a chance to stay in the game because their offensive style is to run the ball and not turn it over. They like playing defense. They are not a high-scoring team. If you don't make mistakes, you have a chance. They are so similar to the old Buddy Ryan defense in that they prosper from your mistakes. My approach would be to keep it close and try to win it in the fourth quarter and don't compound the mistakes that they force you into by making your own mistakes. As a general rule, the better the defense you are playing, the simpler your offense should be. I mean you don't want to be turning the ball over."
Czar: "Does Green Bay have any chance against them?"
JJ: "The bottom line is that Green Bay has to stick to its running game. It may even be smart to run some quick screens to wide receivers to get those big Tennessee linemen running sideline to sideline. You might tire them out. Then, once you get to the fourth quarter, try play-action, run the ball and if you can catch them in isolated coverage go ahead and try to hit the seam routes. Teams also should try to do something in special teams, a trick here or there, because you are not going to score enough points against them.
"The Titans play pretty well at home and they are on a roll right now. But the Packers do have a good enough team to beat them."
Czar: "The Packers can compete with them."
JJ: "Exactly. The key is Ryan Grant has to protect the football and pound it up in there."
HL: "I think Green Bay is get healthy on defense and they are a scary team for the Titans. I really believe that. At some point, you look at the history I think there's going to be a point when Kerry Collins is going to get hurt. That means that Vince Young is going to have to play."
MS: "But with the kind of passes they throw, he's not standing in there a long time now."
TB: "The game Monday night, I thought they protected Collins very well. And he was standing in there and taking a couple shots, too."
MS: "I think Chad Clifton is pretty underrated and I think he will be able to handle Kyle Vanden Bosch. The Packers' offensive line I think will give Aaron Rodgers some time to throw the ball. I agree. I think Green Bay can compete with this team. Howie may be right about Collins. But I don't think any of us know what to expect if Vince Young ever has to play this season."
JJ: "Neither does Tennessee."
HL: "The Packers can move the pocket for Rodgers. They can also run the ball wide and get those linemen tired like Jimmy was saying. Green Bay is a smart enough team and coached well enough that they can keep this game close and pull it out."
Czar: "The Cardinals travel to St. Louis. If they are going to win the NFC West, now's the time. This is the first of three straight division games."
HL: "I'm sure the Rams — and I have no inside information — will try to copy what the Jets did to them, and drop multiple people into pass coverage. You want to keep Kurt Warner off balance. The key for the Rams will be if Steven Jackson can really run and be Steven Jackson, then the Rams have a shot against the Cardinals. If they can confuse Warner like the Jets did, that helps a bunch. We saw the one absurd play where they rushed one lineman or two, and he still forced the ball (for an interception)."
Czar: "Warner does that too much, forcing the pass."
JJ: "If you are the Jets, would you rather have Chad Pennington or Brett Favre?"
Czar: "Are we getting ready to bash Favre?"
JJ: "Well, Chad was AFC Offensive Player of the Week. I'm just stating the facts. Chad's been the difference in the Dolphins winning."
Terry Bradshaw: "Miami has beaten three really good teams this season."
JJ: "He has really been outstanding. He's smart and doesn't make mistakes and he's fit perfectly into their style of offense. Pennington has thrown for more yards than Favre and he has only three interceptions to Brett's 11."
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8739982/FOX-NFL-Sunday-Roundtable:-Week-9
Czar: "The Cowboys visit the Giants, who I think are the best team in the NFL. This is a big game in the NFC East."
Jimmy Johnson: "I don't know if this is a huge game for Dallas anymore. It's more of a bonus game to them if they can win it. But I'm not sure they can beat the Giants. I think in their minds that once they get Tony Romo back that they are going to be fine. But with Brad Johnson I think all they wanted to be able to do was split these two ballgames and they already beat Tampa Bay. If they could beat the Giants, it would be a huge bonus game for them."
TB: "I think you all know what I think of Brad Johnson. The guy has a tough time throwing a spiral. I wonder like fans in Texas if Brooks Bollinger can play."
Howie Long: "I agree with Jimmy in that I'm sure the Cowboys don't think they can win this game. Last week's win was huge for them."
JJ: "Had they not won last week, then they would have been desperate this week."
HL: "Not only that, but Jerry Jones would have been tested this week on whether or Wade Phillips is still the guy. No question about that."
JJ: "I don't think they really put a lot into this game."
Czar: "Are you saying they are going to mail it in?"
JJ: "They won't mail it in, but I don't think they will have the backs' against the wall attitude that they would have had if they lost to the Bucs."
HL: "In a way, the Cowboys can play a little looser because they have the bye coming up."
Michael Strahan: "If you go into the game with the right intentions, then you are all right. But if the Giants score early and get up on them, then you might see Dallas soften up, and maybe concede the game. My only thing is that everybody talks about Romo coming back, but they lost twice with him. Who says he's going to come back and be hot right off the bat? If they get punched in the mouth right away by the Giants, the Cowboys might start looking forward to the bye."
HL: "You look at the Giants and they are a very mentally tough team. You look at how the first half went for them in Pittsburgh last Sunday. To end up with just two field goals and then to get stopped at the goal line on fourth down, on the road, they had every chance to have the game slip away. But they continued to hang in there and ended up making a big play and they got a break when the long snapper gave them a safety. Kind of says a lot about New York."
Czar: "Pretty resilient bunch."
HL: "Kind of says a lot about their coach, Tom Coughlin."
MS: "Jimmy, the same things you were saying about Tennessee, is the same thing the Giants do. Run the ball and play solid defense. They know their offense can score, but they don't go into games thinking that way. Coughlin is big on talking about turnovers and giving yourselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter."
HL: "That's what winning teams do."
Czar: "The way you guys talk it doesn't sound that hard."
JJ: "Mike Martz hasn't figured it out yet."
Czar: "Jimmy has a feature in the show Sunday about how to beat Tennessee's great defense. What makes them so tough?"
Jimmy Johnson: "Well, the problem for every team is their defensive front and I'm not just talking about Albert Haynesworth. Tony Jones is a solid player and their linebackers, led by Keith Bullock, are really active. Titans coach Jeff Fisher wants his defense to be in an eight-man front as much as possible. So, any kind of run game, he's going to work it down to get into that front. Some coaches don't think their cornerbacks are that good, but the problem is they play a lot of Cover Two. They also disguise their coverage pretty well. Now, teams have to be able to run the ball effectively against them in order to isolate those cornerbacks and hit some seam routes against them like Peyton Manning did with Dallas Clark."
Terry Bradshaw: "They got after Peyton Manning pretty good, but what really impressed me was how tough they were on short yardage. They stuffed everything. They are a great tackling team."
JJ: "My only thoughts are that they do give teams a chance to stay in the game because their offensive style is to run the ball and not turn it over. They like playing defense. They are not a high-scoring team. If you don't make mistakes, you have a chance. They are so similar to the old Buddy Ryan defense in that they prosper from your mistakes. My approach would be to keep it close and try to win it in the fourth quarter and don't compound the mistakes that they force you into by making your own mistakes. As a general rule, the better the defense you are playing, the simpler your offense should be. I mean you don't want to be turning the ball over."
Czar: "Does Green Bay have any chance against them?"
JJ: "The bottom line is that Green Bay has to stick to its running game. It may even be smart to run some quick screens to wide receivers to get those big Tennessee linemen running sideline to sideline. You might tire them out. Then, once you get to the fourth quarter, try play-action, run the ball and if you can catch them in isolated coverage go ahead and try to hit the seam routes. Teams also should try to do something in special teams, a trick here or there, because you are not going to score enough points against them.
"The Titans play pretty well at home and they are on a roll right now. But the Packers do have a good enough team to beat them."
Czar: "The Packers can compete with them."
JJ: "Exactly. The key is Ryan Grant has to protect the football and pound it up in there."
HL: "I think Green Bay is get healthy on defense and they are a scary team for the Titans. I really believe that. At some point, you look at the history I think there's going to be a point when Kerry Collins is going to get hurt. That means that Vince Young is going to have to play."
MS: "But with the kind of passes they throw, he's not standing in there a long time now."
TB: "The game Monday night, I thought they protected Collins very well. And he was standing in there and taking a couple shots, too."
MS: "I think Chad Clifton is pretty underrated and I think he will be able to handle Kyle Vanden Bosch. The Packers' offensive line I think will give Aaron Rodgers some time to throw the ball. I agree. I think Green Bay can compete with this team. Howie may be right about Collins. But I don't think any of us know what to expect if Vince Young ever has to play this season."
JJ: "Neither does Tennessee."
HL: "The Packers can move the pocket for Rodgers. They can also run the ball wide and get those linemen tired like Jimmy was saying. Green Bay is a smart enough team and coached well enough that they can keep this game close and pull it out."
Czar: "The Cardinals travel to St. Louis. If they are going to win the NFC West, now's the time. This is the first of three straight division games."
HL: "I'm sure the Rams — and I have no inside information — will try to copy what the Jets did to them, and drop multiple people into pass coverage. You want to keep Kurt Warner off balance. The key for the Rams will be if Steven Jackson can really run and be Steven Jackson, then the Rams have a shot against the Cardinals. If they can confuse Warner like the Jets did, that helps a bunch. We saw the one absurd play where they rushed one lineman or two, and he still forced the ball (for an interception)."
Czar: "Warner does that too much, forcing the pass."
JJ: "If you are the Jets, would you rather have Chad Pennington or Brett Favre?"
Czar: "Are we getting ready to bash Favre?"
JJ: "Well, Chad was AFC Offensive Player of the Week. I'm just stating the facts. Chad's been the difference in the Dolphins winning."
Terry Bradshaw: "Miami has beaten three really good teams this season."
JJ: "He has really been outstanding. He's smart and doesn't make mistakes and he's fit perfectly into their style of offense. Pennington has thrown for more yards than Favre and he has only three interceptions to Brett's 11."
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8739982/FOX-NFL-Sunday-Roundtable:-Week-9
