Hello Bleeding Green Nation. My name is Dave Halprin, the founder of Blogging The Boys way back in 2005. I’ve been with the site ever since and some of you may know my name from the numerous ‘five questions’ articles that Brandon Lee Gowton and I have done together over the years. We’ll have another one of those this week, but I’ve been asked to give you guys a little more detail about certain aspects of the upcoming game.
Specifically, we are going to talk about the four thing the Eagles should do to defeat the Cowboys on Sunday. I’ll have two things for your offense and two for your defense.
1) Attack the Cowboys’ offensive tackles
This one has two aspects that can be contradictory, but a talented defense with a knowledgeable coach like Vic Fangio should be able to pull it off.
First, the Cowboys tackles have proven to be vulnerable to the pass rush, especially right tackle Terence Steele. He was actually benched in the second half of the Cardinals game because things were going so poorly. I’m definitely aware of the beasts you have in the middle of the defensive line, but the outside is vulnerable. Stunt, overload, do whatever you have to do to make the offensive tackles unsure of themselves and then attack. But…
Make sure you keep Dak Prescott pinned in. Dak loves to roll away from trouble around the edge and hit players on the scramble drill. Prescott isn’t really a major threat to run, but when he gets outside the pocket he is good at hitting off-platform throws. So keep your lane integrity when attacking the tackles and let the middle guys keep Prescott from climbing the pocket.
2) Put Quinyon Mitchell on George Pickens, and then double CeeDee Lamb when possible
The Cowboys wide receiver duo is a struggle to contain right now. You guys know about this with your two stars, now the Cowboys have found heir own dynamic duo at receiver. Pickens has been blazing hot recently, and it’s not just on deep balls or circus catches on the sideline. He’s also catching slants, digs and other routes and is doing work after the catch. The Eagles defense should test if Mitchell will be able to slow down Pickens on his own. If he can, then double Lamb when you can because the Cowboys offense runs through those two. If Pickens is still winning, then try to double him and put Mitchell on Lamb.
Let the Cowboys throw the ball to others like Jake Ferguson or Ryan Flournoy and see if they can beat you. I doubt Dallas can put together a strong offensive game unless Pickens and Lamb are leading the way. I would be willing to trade 12 targets to Ferguson and a decent run game behind Javonte Williams just to slow down Pickens and Lamb. Overcompensate with your secondary to try and limit those two and live with the rest.
3) Test the Cowboys linebackers in multiple ways
The Cowboys linebacking corps got better with the addition of Logan Wilson at the trade deadline and the return of DeMarvion Overshown from injury. But they are probably still a weak point. Running inside might be an issue since the Cowboys now have Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark and Osa Odghizuwa at defensive tackle, that is a lot of beef and talent to move.
Instead, use off-tackle runs, regular screens, bubble screens and crossing patterns over the middle to really stress the Cowboys linebackers. Give them some eye candy to look at pre-snap then make them read their keys and hit their run fits or drop into coverage with multiple guys crossing the middle. Make the Dallas linebackers prove they can handle it. They are a better unit now, but they are not world class.
4) Flood the areas away from DaRon Bland
Right now, DaRon Bland is the only corner who we can be sure has the talent to play at a top level in this league. The other guys at corner have potential, but they are not there yet. The Cowboys safeties are also mediocre-to-poor in pass coverage, and the scheme we’ve been running has its issues.
Teams have been flooding an area at multiple levels when the Cowboys are in zone, and the secondary hasn’t responded well to that. I would seek out the area where Bland is not, and run layered patters to that side. You will probably hit some explosive plays that way.
In summary, attack Dak around the edges but maintain gap integrity and don’t let him roll out. Expend whatever resources you have to in the secondary to try and slow Pickens/Lamb, even if it means other guys on Dallas feast a little.
Go after the Cowboys linebackers in as many ways as you can devise, and then when you go downfield flood the zones away from Daron Bland. We’ll see you on Sunday.
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