New Defensive Scheme?

[Chuck 54]

I don't expect to see the same old Cowboys defense this weekend against INdy. I think Parcells will take the same attitude Jimmy Johnson took when he was here.

Johnson was not a gambler when he thought he had the best team or closely matched teams...he played it close to the vest, running the ball and letting his defense or the controlled running and timing passing game take over.

However, when Johnson knew he was outmatched, he'd gamble...trick plays, onsides kicks at any time, and different twists in the defense.

I expect Parcells and Zimmer to play a lot of safe defense, sometimes using the 4-2-5 nickel the entire time INdy is in the no huddle, daring them to try and run consistantly, hoping it puts Indy in plenty of 3rd downs. I also expect them to turn the players loose and come with some new blitz packages from all sorts of angles whenever it's a clear passing situation...it's not about bringing everyone, but bringing someone suddenly from somewhere that's not been seen in the films.

It's very hard to confuse Peyton Manning about what he sees, but if you hide it well enough, it's not hard to confuse the OL that protects him.

I also look to see TNew in lots of man coverage, while we roll our FS towards Henry's side, letting Henry jump routes and play physical, knowing he has help over the top. I expect to see Roy covering Dallas Clark most of the game.

If these guys do their jobs, it will come down to our LB's and extra DB's to cover the backs and get some decent drops in the middle.

We really can't respect Indy's running game at all...I don't care if their RB gets 100+ yards on 20-25 carries....I don't think INdy has the patience to stick with it even if it's there.

Our defense is good, and our offense is improving, but to beat a team that went 13-0 last year and is 9-0 this year with a QB like Manning, I think the game plan will have some serious surprises this week...not crazy gambles leaving guys like Henry or a FS in man coverage on their WRs, but surprises that involve some line stunts and some new blitzes, even some fake blitzes that we back out of after Manning audibles.

I don't believe for a second that we'll just line up and play our base defense like we sometimes have.

 

[Wolfpack]

A pretty strong post. You are right on about Johnson, he gambled but not when he didnt really have to.

Think back to last years Philly game...Bill knew we were gonna have to put up points big time. We came out attacking down field. The big coaching question is; do you look for early points and try to make the Colts chase you ( which they can do) or do you run first and try to make the Colts score on each of their limited offensive runs (which they can do). ??

Time to earn the big bucks this week coaching staff. I think they run with a generous dose of down the field shots off play action.

 

[odog422]

Good post Wayne. I think you're right on - mix it up but not at the expense of single coverage. And for some reason, I expect our D to react favorably to this scheme. In other words, EXECUTE.

The Colts being who they are (undefeated) and the projected attitude of all the experts of a sure fire loss for us I think brings a new focus for this D this week.

I also agree with the 2nd post in that we'll take our shots downfield, but not generously. Too much risk involved in giving the ball back to the Colts O quickly. I also think MBIII's workload goes up this week unless JJ breaks a couple early.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

I would like to see the Cowboys play more 4-3 against the Colts honestly, because that will enable the Cowboys to push the pocket more and create a better pass rush.....

 

[dogberry]

What did Pittsburg and New England do defensively against the Colts?

 

[BourbonBalz]

What did Pittsburg and New England do defensively against the Colts?

They banged Manning around quite a bit, especially Pittsburgh. Hit him hard and hit him often. I don't care how good any QB is, if you keep hitting them over and over, they become much less effective.

 

[BourbonBalz]

Of course the question is, can we repeatedly get to Manning without getting our secondary toasted. If we go after him, we better make sure we get to him. Not necessarily sacks, but pressure and knock downs. Make him hurry his throws.

 

[BeWare94]

I don't expect to see the same old Cowboys defense this weekend against INdy. I think Parcells will take the same attitude Jimmy Johnson took when he was here.

Johnson was not a gambler when he thought he had the best team or closely matched teams...he played it close to the vest, running the ball and letting his defense or the controlled running and timing passing game take over.

However, when Johnson knew he was outmatched, he'd gamble...trick plays, onsides kicks at any time, and different twists in the defense.

I expect Parcells and Zimmer to play a lot of safe defense, sometimes using the 4-2-5 nickel the entire time INdy is in the no huddle, daring them to try and run consistantly, hoping it puts Indy in plenty of 3rd downs. I also expect them to turn the players loose and come with some new blitz packages from all sorts of angles whenever it's a clear passing situation...it's not about bringing everyone, but bringing someone suddenly from somewhere that's not been seen in the films.

It's very hard to confuse Peyton Manning about what he sees, but if you hide it well enough, it's not hard to confuse the OL that protects him.

I also look to see TNew in lots of man coverage, while we roll our FS towards Henry's side, letting Henry jump routes and play physical, knowing he has help over the top. I expect to see Roy covering Dallas Clark most of the game.

If these guys do their jobs, it will come down to our LB's and extra DB's to cover the backs and get some decent drops in the middle.

We really can't respect Indy's running game at all...I don't care if their RB gets 100+ yards on 20-25 carries....I don't think INdy has the patience to stick with it even if it's there.

Our defense is good, and our offense is improving, but to beat a team that went 13-0 last year and is 9-0 this year with a QB like Manning, I think the game plan will have some serious surprises this week...not crazy gambles leaving guys like Henry or a FS in man coverage on their WRs, but surprises that involve some line stunts and some new blitzes, even some fake blitzes that we back out of after Manning audibles.

I don't believe for a second that we'll just line up and play our base defense like we sometimes have.

What have you seen to date that makes you believe that we'll do anything different than what we always do defensively? I expect the flats will be open, the slant will be available on third down, no pressure up the middle of the field on Manning. The one constant of the Parcells/Zimmer regime is the vanilla defense.

 

[Kangaroo]

I think the key to the Beating the Colts and I posted this early this week.

Dallas has to put 7 up and not settle for 3's period end of story.

Dallas can not have 3 and outs we have to sustain drives even if we have to punt it in the end they need to be a minimum of 5 to 6 plays on a drive

We need to run the ball well against a bad running defense

Do not play it close to the vest if we play it close to the vest and Manning has the ball at the end; the defense is toast. We lose period ; Manning has been to good this year in that situation and our defense folds like a cheap suit when we have to make stops in those pressure moments.

Penalties: If we get 8 penalties against the Colts the game will be over; 5 or less should be the magic number

 

[BourbonBalz]

I think the key to the Beating the Colts and I posted this early this week.

Dallas has to put 7 up and not settle for 3's period end of story.

Dallas can not have 3 and outs we have to sustain drives even if we have to punt it in the end they need to be a minimum of 5 to 6 plays on a drive

We need to run the ball well against a bad running defense

Do not play it close to the vest if we play it close to the vest and Manning has the ball at the end; the defense is toast. We lose period ; Manning has been to good this year in that situation and our defense folds like a cheap suit when we have to make stops in those pressure moments.

Penalties: If we get 8 penalties against the Colts the game will be over; 5 or less should be the magic number

I disagree about the penalties. Yes, penalties have killed us this year, but you can't pick an over/under number for penalties. It doesn't work that way. We need to avoid all penalties, but the most important thing is when the penalties come and the type. Holdng is a drive killer. Pass interference is a killer. We're going to be called for some penalties. That's a given. We need to limit the number of penalties and not have them at crucial times, but you can't pick a number that will determine whether we win or lose. Not possible.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

I DO NOT feel we are over matched at all....IF big IF we cut down on penalities we beat these guys...watch and see!

 

[dfense]

I don't expect to see the same old Cowboys defense this weekend against INdy. I think Parcells will take the same attitude Jimmy Johnson took when he was here.

Johnson was not a gambler when he thought he had the best team or closely matched teams...he played it close to the vest, running the ball and letting his defense or the controlled running and timing passing game take over.

However, when Johnson knew he was outmatched, he'd gamble...trick plays, onsides kicks at any time, and different twists in the defense.

I expect Parcells and Zimmer to play a lot of safe defense, sometimes using the 4-2-5 nickel the entire time INdy is in the no huddle, daring them to try and run consistantly, hoping it puts Indy in plenty of 3rd downs. I also expect them to turn the players loose and come with some new blitz packages from all sorts of angles whenever it's a clear passing situation...it's not about bringing everyone, but bringing someone suddenly from somewhere that's not been seen in the films.

It's very hard to confuse Peyton Manning about what he sees, but if you hide it well enough, it's not hard to confuse the OL that protects him.

I also look to see TNew in lots of man coverage, while we roll our FS towards Henry's side, letting Henry jump routes and play physical, knowing he has help over the top. I expect to see Roy covering Dallas Clark most of the game.

If these guys do their jobs, it will come down to our LB's and extra DB's to cover the backs and get some decent drops in the middle.

We really can't respect Indy's running game at all...I don't care if their RB gets 100+ yards on 20-25 carries....I don't think INdy has the patience to stick with it even if it's there.

Our defense is good, and our offense is improving, but to beat a team that went 13-0 last year and is 9-0 this year with a QB like Manning, I think the game plan will have some serious surprises this week...not crazy gambles leaving guys like Henry or a FS in man coverage on their WRs, but surprises that involve some line stunts and some new blitzes, even some fake blitzes that we back out of after Manning audibles.

I don't believe for a second that we'll just line up and play our base defense like we sometimes have.

Did you notice the Cowboys played a six man front against the Cardinals and the Cardinals couldn't run effectively? They even had a TE stay in and that didn't help.

 

[AsthmaField]

However, when Johnson knew he was outmatched, he'd gamble...trick plays, onsides kicks at any time, and different twists in the defense.

True Wayne. I expect to see the defensive side of the ball come with a few extra things that we might not have seen yet. However, on offense, I'm not sure we will. I think Parcells thinks we're not overmatched by their defense. I think he feels like our offense is better than their defense and that he can line straight up and smash Indy in the mouth... all the while controlling the flow of the game and the clock.

That's not to say we won't have a few trick plays on offense... only that I think Bill thinks our O can beat their D straight up.

I agree with that too, in that it is Manning that overmatches our defense and that is the only part of the Indy team which is better than us. And now with Romo, the gap between the two QB's is smaller than it would've been with Drew.

They are ranked #1 and #2 afterall.

 

[Chuck 54]

Did you notice the Cowboys played a six man front against the Cardinals and the Cardinals couldn't run effectively? They even had a TE stay in and that didn't help.

I did...that was our 4-2-5 nickel package...I expect to see much more of it this week, even if Indy does run.

 

[Doomsday101]

I did...that was our 4-2-5 nickel package...I expect to see much more of it this week, even if Indy does run.

I agree. Indy loves running the no huddle and I think Dallas has to play nickel package for the most part in this game. It will be hard to sub guys this week

 

[tyke1doe]

They banged Manning around quite a bit, especially Pittsburgh. Hit him hard and hit him often. I don't care how good any QB is, if you keep hitting them over and over, they become much less effective.

And they bullied their receivers. Bumped them at the line, roughed them up on tackles, gave a little extra "nudge" when they were on the ground, hit them even when the ball doesn't come to them.

Marvin Harrison, as great as he is, does not like to get beat up on. He doesn't have the body for it.

Time for Roy Williams to start earning his pay as the Intimidator.