MySa Blog: Getting to Falcons' Ryan won't be easy for Ware and Co.

[WoodysGirl]

By Tom Orsborn on Oct 21, 09 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) Save & Share

Getting to Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has been all but impossible this season thanks to a scarcity of seven-step drops. In fact, Atlanta has gone four-straight games without allow a sack.

Miami's Phillip Merling was the last player to sack Ryan, dropping him with 9:06 left in the third quarter of the season opener. For the season, Ryan has been sacked only twice in 156 pass attempts. With time to survey the field, he's completed 65 percent of his passes with only four interceptions.

After a slow start, the Cowboys have recorded 10 sacks over the last three games, but they understand dropping Ryan is a long shot.

"He doesn't hold onto the ball," said linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who had his first two sacks of the season against Kansas City. "We have to get pressure on him because he will throw the ball away. That's one thing he'll do. He'll throw it out of bounds. We're not looking at how many sacks we get but how much pressure we can on him so he throws it away."

 

[DCBoysfan]

Four games without a sack is impressive, I hope Dware and Spencer can break that streak, we need pressure on him.

 

[Future]

blitz right up the gut...let bradie james play going forward, lord knows he won't be able to cover anybody.

 

[WoodysGirl]

Dallas Pass Rush Faces Tall Task In Atlanta

If the Dallas Cowboys pass rush, a vaunted machine last season, wishes to use week six in order to return to form, they'll have to do so in the face of one of the league's best (statistically) offensive lines. The Falcons made sure of it by bringing in a fiery line coach last season, and it's no small reason for their recent success.

Atlanta has surrendered two sacks this season, good enough to tie the Giants and the Colts in this regard.

Of course, Dallas' pass rush has made strides of late. Jay Ratliff is (probably) on his way to another Pro Bowl; DeMarcus Ware sacked Matt Cassell twice a week after beginning work with former Cowboys QB-killer Charles Haley; even Marcus Spears, who is by definition, as an end in a 3-4, no sack machine, got one against Kansas City.

But four of Dallas's ten sacks came against the hodgepodge Kansas City offensive line, which might be slightly worse than that of the University of Florida; that is, this was no true test, nothing like what Dallas's defenders will be up against when Atlanta comes to town.

Line coach Paul Boudreau came to Atlanta last season from St. Louis, and reduced the amount of sacks surrendered by 30. That Ryan immediately excelled in the NFL might be a wonder; but the fact that he was kept on his feet--a luxury not afforded Troy Aikman, or, say, David Carr--can explain a lot of it.

The seemingly overnight turnaround of the franchise (Vick who?), in fact, seems to emphasize the effect of a solid front. This is illustrated by the unit's two most egregious failures last season, as chronicled by Rick Gosselin today in the Dallas Morning News: "The Buccaneers sacked Ryan a career-high four times last season and whipped the Falcons, 24-9. The Cardinals sacked him three times in the playoffs and eliminated the Falcons, 30-24. Ryan committed five turnovers in those two losses."

This season, the Falcons have turned the ball over only seven times, on their way to a 4-1 record coming into Dallas. Needless to say, the Cowboys defense, a unit expected to come close to, if not match their effort in 2008, regardless of opposition--has their work cut out for them; for the fans, it's time to see if--in the words of a flustered Dennis Green--they are who we thought they were.

BY Scott Crisp // 3 hours ago

http://www.nbcdfw.com/blogs/blue-star/Dallas-Pass-Rush-Faces-Tall-Task-In-Atlanta-65178102.html

 

[RS12]

blitz right up the gut...let bradie james play going forward, lord knows he won't be able to cover anybody.

Yep, that how Denver shut down Rivers the other night, and he is better QB than Ryan. I have been wanting to Jason Williams on the field just for middle blitzes. The guy showed flashes in the pre season.

 

[BAT]

Cowboys need to get a lead early and force the Falcons into predictable passing situations. Then the sacks will come.

Take the reins off of Romo. Let him be the ad libbing play maker, he sucks as a listless game manager.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

Interesting how in the blurb it's mentioned that he's thrown 156 passes "with only four interceptions".

Interesting because Romo has thrown four interceptions in more attempts. Yet, the perception is still that he's really reckless with the ball when save the Giants game, he hasn't been.