RS12
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- It’s always different for me to watch a game on television, like I did last night, rather than sitting in my press box seat at the stadium. I now understand why people that watch the game at home feel the way they do about certain players or situations that take place during the game.
As poorly as the viewing audience believed Tyron Smith played against Jason Pierre-Paul, the coach’s tape told a totally different story. It was like a heavy weight fight between two of the better players in this league when it comes to rushing the passer and protecting the quarterback.
Neither player was willing to give the other an inch. Pierre-Paul has faced Smith enough now to understand what works against him and what techniques have no shot. Where Pierre-Paul had pressured Smith before is setting him up with outside pressure, then blasting hard to the inside.
When Smith first came into the league, it was this type of rush that gave him the most trouble, and Pierre-Paul was able to get him on that very same move two times. One of those resulted in a holding call that wiped out a nice gain to Dez Bryant.
On the other side of the coin, Smith knows that Pierre-Paul likes to start his rush hard to the outside shoulder of the tackle in an attempt to grab that corner. There were several snaps where Smith exploded to the outside and was on Pierre-Paul before he had a chance to grab that edge. In the running game, the tape showed that Pierre-Paul was able to make two tackles in the game, but one of those tackles came off a heck of a play when Jason Wittenwas blocking him on a counter-flip and he was able to extend on Witten and get off the block.
Where Smith was at his absolute best was on the final drive where he completely slammed the door on Pierre-Paul. With the Giants needing a stop to win the game, he was nowhere near Tony Romo at any point in the series.
