LitanyofFury
01-01-2007, 01:04 PM
By David Moore
The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas — Mike Holmgren has already begun to put together a plan for Seattle's playoff game against the Cowboys.
Mike Furrey won't be asked to take part in those sessions. But the Detroit receiver doesn't have to be in the room to know what's coming. Furrey, receiver Roy Williams and the rest of the Lions became the latest offense to expose the Cowboys secondary for the flawed, predictable unit it has become.
"I think you're going to see Seattle come out with three wides and spread them out a little bit,'' Furrey said of Saturday's first round matchup. "You've got Shaun Alexnader up there, so they're going to be able to run the ball. They're not going to be able to close the defense enough. I think they (the Seahawks) are going to be able to ...'' Furrey paused. Maybe he sensed Detroit's season-high 39 points were indictment enough and anything else he said would be piling on.
"Dallas has a great team, though,'' Furrey said.
Well, we're not sure about that. But Furrey was on target with his observations, which gives him something in common with Jon Kitna, Drew Brees and every other quarterback that faced the Cowboys in December.
The Cowboys' defensive scheme is based on getting pressure on the quarterback. If that pressure doesn't materialize, the secondary is at the mercy of the quarterback.
No revelation here. The same goes for every defense in the NFL. As Williams said, "You give any quarterback in the league time, and a defense can't cover the receivers if they're running the right plays.''
But what's happening with the Cowboys goes deeper. The Cowboys haven't altered or disguised their scheme to compensate for the fact they're not getting consistent pressure. Not only does the quarterback have time to read the play, he doesn't have to worry about the Cowboys throwing a defensive wrinkle his way in coverage.
What the Lions did — and what other teams did in December — is flood a zone with three receivers. Most teams will alter their coverage in that situation.
The Cowboys don't. Opponents know where each defender will be and who is most likely to come open.
Roy Williams caught six passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns Sunday. Both of his scores were against cornerback Aaron Glenn.
"That's my boy,'' the former University of Texas star said. "He's an Aggie.''
There's the dig. Here's the plan: the Lions worked to get Williams on the same side as Glenn and Cowboys safety Roy Williams, knowing the safety would leave Glenn alone if the Lions threatened the run.
"That's why they call it play action,'' the Lions' Roy Williams said. "He's taught to fill a certain gap and that's what he's supposed to do.
"At the same time, we're running one-on-one with the corners. You can either run a go or a post or anything you want to do.''
Anything you wanted to do on this day resulted in Kitna throwing for 306 yards and four touchdowns.
"We knew that they leave the middle open a little bit,'' said Furrey, who caught 11 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. "There are some catches to be made in there. That's their normal defense to leave four deep all the way across.
"And we knew we would be able to take advantage on the outside because they never switch off routes.''
Who hasn't taken advantage of the Cowboys secondary? Quarterbacks completed nearly 67 percent of their passes for 16 touchdowns in December. The Lions saw what New Orleans, Atlanta and Philadelphia did and duplicated that approach.
Next up in the shooting gallery is Matt Hasselbeck.
"It's a copycat league,'' the Lions' Roy Williams said. "This is what worked for those three teams. Let's try it for us, too.
"But it's the NFL. You make adjustments. Sooner or later, it's going to come to a halt.''
One way or the other.
NICE JOB DALLAS!!
The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas — Mike Holmgren has already begun to put together a plan for Seattle's playoff game against the Cowboys.
Mike Furrey won't be asked to take part in those sessions. But the Detroit receiver doesn't have to be in the room to know what's coming. Furrey, receiver Roy Williams and the rest of the Lions became the latest offense to expose the Cowboys secondary for the flawed, predictable unit it has become.
"I think you're going to see Seattle come out with three wides and spread them out a little bit,'' Furrey said of Saturday's first round matchup. "You've got Shaun Alexnader up there, so they're going to be able to run the ball. They're not going to be able to close the defense enough. I think they (the Seahawks) are going to be able to ...'' Furrey paused. Maybe he sensed Detroit's season-high 39 points were indictment enough and anything else he said would be piling on.
"Dallas has a great team, though,'' Furrey said.
Well, we're not sure about that. But Furrey was on target with his observations, which gives him something in common with Jon Kitna, Drew Brees and every other quarterback that faced the Cowboys in December.
The Cowboys' defensive scheme is based on getting pressure on the quarterback. If that pressure doesn't materialize, the secondary is at the mercy of the quarterback.
No revelation here. The same goes for every defense in the NFL. As Williams said, "You give any quarterback in the league time, and a defense can't cover the receivers if they're running the right plays.''
But what's happening with the Cowboys goes deeper. The Cowboys haven't altered or disguised their scheme to compensate for the fact they're not getting consistent pressure. Not only does the quarterback have time to read the play, he doesn't have to worry about the Cowboys throwing a defensive wrinkle his way in coverage.
What the Lions did — and what other teams did in December — is flood a zone with three receivers. Most teams will alter their coverage in that situation.
The Cowboys don't. Opponents know where each defender will be and who is most likely to come open.
Roy Williams caught six passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns Sunday. Both of his scores were against cornerback Aaron Glenn.
"That's my boy,'' the former University of Texas star said. "He's an Aggie.''
There's the dig. Here's the plan: the Lions worked to get Williams on the same side as Glenn and Cowboys safety Roy Williams, knowing the safety would leave Glenn alone if the Lions threatened the run.
"That's why they call it play action,'' the Lions' Roy Williams said. "He's taught to fill a certain gap and that's what he's supposed to do.
"At the same time, we're running one-on-one with the corners. You can either run a go or a post or anything you want to do.''
Anything you wanted to do on this day resulted in Kitna throwing for 306 yards and four touchdowns.
"We knew that they leave the middle open a little bit,'' said Furrey, who caught 11 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. "There are some catches to be made in there. That's their normal defense to leave four deep all the way across.
"And we knew we would be able to take advantage on the outside because they never switch off routes.''
Who hasn't taken advantage of the Cowboys secondary? Quarterbacks completed nearly 67 percent of their passes for 16 touchdowns in December. The Lions saw what New Orleans, Atlanta and Philadelphia did and duplicated that approach.
Next up in the shooting gallery is Matt Hasselbeck.
"It's a copycat league,'' the Lions' Roy Williams said. "This is what worked for those three teams. Let's try it for us, too.
"But it's the NFL. You make adjustments. Sooner or later, it's going to come to a halt.''
One way or the other.
NICE JOB DALLAS!!